Challenges Of Political Party Internal Democracy and Its Impact on Infrastructural Development in Kaduna State

Abstract

Political surrogates or political godfatherism has been the tradition of politics and invariably leads to political crisis, such as godfather – godson conflict, corruption and internal political conflicts and this scenario greatly affects infrastructural development, such as road construction and water supply. The study examines the challenges of godfatherism and internal democracy on infrastructural development in Kaduna State. The target area of the study includes the State Party Executive of All Progressive Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), the Local Government Executive APC and PDP, the Electorates APC and PDP, INEC, the Academies in the State University and Civil Society. The study made use of an analytical and descriptive research type. The study assessed the effects of the imposition of candidates/surrogates on infrastructural development in Kaduna State. Findings revealed that financial difficulties reinforce the reliance on political godfathers and godfatherism impedes political dividends and governance in Kaduna State. Therefore, the study recommended that political parties should implement transparent and democratic systems in candidate selection to eliminate the power of godfatherism in Kaduna State, and there should be a Public Private Partnership Solution (PPPS) to address the problem of infrastructure in Kaduna State by the National Orientation Agency (NOA).