Political Finance and Party Politics in Nigeria's Fourth Republic

Abstract

The paper investigated political financing in Nigeria and its impact on the country’s democratic process. The study considered issues involved in political financing such as the regulation and monitoring of the flow of finance within the electoral space in Nigeria, with particular emphasis on political parties’ finance. The study also interrogated the extent to which effective financial regulation of the electoral system in a society such as Nigeria is feasible, taking into consideration the high incidence of financial malfeasance in the country. The study is a documentary research and data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive method. Utilizing the hydraulic theory of political finance, the paper established that state institutions in Nigeria lack both the capacity to adequately monitor the flow of finance in the country’s political system and to sanction offenders of the relevant electoral statutes. Thus, voter education and monitoring of the electoral process by religious organisations, civil society, the mass media and social medial personalities is recommended in order to ensure transparency within the electoral system in Nigeria.