Address by Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, on the occasion of the Inauguration of the newly elected IPAC Executive Committee at the Conference Room of Independent National Electoral Commission, Maitama, Abuja on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Today’s inauguration marks the beginning of a new day at IPAC as we move from thought to action and from politics to leadership. During the contest preceding the IPAC election, we made several promises about how we are going to make IPAC better and transform it into an organisation worth its name. Today is the time we begin the journey to transform these promises into tangible achievements.
I am committed to repositioning IPAC to live up to its objective as contained in the Political Parties’ Code of Conduct 2013, in addition to making it a force for good. I intend to work with my colleagues in the IPAC Executive Committee and the General Assembly, other leaders of Nigeria’s political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Civil Society Organisations, Nigeria’s development partners and other stakeholders in our democratic project, including the current Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, to make IPAC the vehicle for the expansion of our nation’s political space.
We will work to repositioning and strengthen our multiparty democracy so that electoral contest becomes a contest of ideas and programs, not one of money, muscle and make-believe. The influence of money in our politics has become extremely pervasive. Under my leadership, IPAC will play a leading role in curtailing the negative influence of money in our politics and will champion the cause of internal democracy within our political parties as much as it can. Nigeria cannot be a democratic nation unless its political parties are. In this regard, IPAC will institute a peer review mechanism, PRM, so political parties can assess themselves from time to time.
My Vision
My vision is to make IPAC live up to its objective as contained in the Political Parties Code of Conduct 2013 and raise its profile another notch, to enable it take its rightful place in the political pecking order in Nigeria as a relevant, credible, purposeful and respected organisation. Under my leadership, IPAC can no longer be ignored.
We are, potentially, a very powerful organisation but this potential is yet to be harnessed. Past IPAC leaders have tried their best to lay a good foundation. It is now time to fully take IPAC off the ground and give it relevance, credibility and influence. An organisation like IPAC ought to make leaders in the various branches and tiers of government take notice whenever it speaks. We cannot make that happen if we allow IPAC to be at the beck and call of special interests whose commitment is not necessarily to the common good. Our politics should not be about personal or even partisan interests but about the promotion of our collective and national interest regardless of partisan differences.
My Program
Let me seize the opportunity of this Inauguration to outline the program I will pursue relentlessly during my tenure, with the cooperation of my colleagues in the Executive Committee and the General Assembly.
During the First Quarter of my tenure, I will
a. Ensure the IPAC Secretariat is well organised to perform its duties properly. Before the election of July 24th, IPAC did not have a physical Secretariat of its own. It operated from the offices of incumbent officers. I have already provided a standard, fully furnished, stand alone Secretariat with seven dedicated office spaces and a 30-Seat Conference Room. Similarly, we plan to design an administrative organogram shortly and employ a dedicated and full-time secretariat staff to run the IPAC Secretariat.
b. As we speak, I have already commissioned the design and creation of a user friendly IPAC website. The domain of our new website iPAC.ng has already been registered and the website will be up and running within a couple of weeks. We will populate the website with relevant information about IPAC and its activities, which will be updated from time to time and made easily accessible to IPAC members, the media and the general public. The website will be interactive with a dedicated, members-only chat section where members can post comments and exchange ideas about how to make IPAC better. We have already created an IPAC Twitter handle (@ipac.ng), a Facebook page and a Google+ account to enhance IPAC’s visibility and interactivity with the general public. All of these were achieved with the consent and collaboration of the members of new Executive Committee.
c. Before the end of 2015, we will launch a N500 million fundraising drive to enable IPAC fund its activities and take care of members’ welfare. All monies received on behalf of IPAC will be declared while accounts will be rendered to members regularly.
Second Quarter
In the Second Quarter of our tenure, we will
a. Launch a monthly or quarterly electronic IPAC Newsletter to publicise IPAC activities and provide a medium of exchange for some of the topical political and policy issues in Nigeria and across the world, on politics, democracy and development. The IPAC e-Newsletter will be circulated to all political parties, INEC, the National Assembly, MDAs, relevant Civil Society and Development Partner Organisations, Nigeria’s diplomatic missions abroad and foreign diplomatic missions in Nigeria. The Newsletter will also be circulated to members of the press and be accessible on mobile phones and other mobile devices.
b. Convene the first ever Political Summit in Nigeria since 1999, at which political parties and other stakeholders will discuss topical political issues and examine the health of our democracy and its future. The National Political Summit, as it will be called, will be similar, in its objective and design, to the National Economic Summit and it will be instituted as an annual event.
Third and Fourth Quarters
In the second half of my tenure, IPAC will:
a. identify relevant educational programs and training opportunities at home and abroad for leaders of Nigeria’s political parties on political campaigns, elections and party management and ensure, within the limit of IPAC financial resources, as many political parties as possible benefit from these opportunities before the expiry of my term.
b. hold regular residential seminars, conferences and workshops on policy issues, especially those with direct bearing on democracy, free and fair elections and economic and social development.
c. initiate and maintain a cooperative relationship with relevant civil society and development-partner organisations, especially those focused in the areas of democracy, elections and voter education, for the purpose of advocacy and part- or full-funding of some of IPAC’s activities and programs.
d. initiate and maintain a cooperative relationship with other inter-party councils in Africa and across the world for the exchange of ideas on best practices in inter-party relations and political party management
e. endeavour to send IPAC Observer Teams to every function of political parties to which IPAC is invited and to every election to be conducted by INEC henceforth and to prepare a comprehensive report on the election/event
These programs are subject to the approval of IPAC’s Executive Committee and General Assembly, in addition to other programs which either of the two bodies may approve.
Conclusion
In concluding, I would like to thank my colleagues who participated in the election – those who won and those who did not – for making the contest exciting, intense and competitive, probably the most competitive election IPAC ever had. The elections have come and gone. It is normal for political contest to create divisions and leave a sour taste in the mouth. I appeal to all members of IPAC to put these divisions aside, support and cooperate with the new Executive Committee so we can move into the future together as the brothers and sisters that we are. I extend my hand of friendship to all my colleagues, especially to those who feel dissatisfied with the outcome of the election and promise to carry everyone along.
I would like to thank the Chairman and Members of the IPAC Election Committee for their dedication, restraint, accommodation and tolerance but above all, for giving us free, fair and credible election under the supervision of INEC. I would also like to thank the leadership and officials of INEC who stayed with us and observed the election and provided leadership in the organisation of this Inauguration. May the God Almighty reward you for your impartiality, dedication and sacrifice.
I would like to thank the Democratic Governance Development program of the United Nations Development Program which has continued to support IPAC over time. We will continue to call on your support as we take the organisation to a higher level of purpose, credibility and influence.
Finally, I would like to thank the media for covering this event and for your continued support. IPAC will continue to count on your cooperation and goodwill. Our doors will remain open to you, not just because I am, by training, one of you but also because it serves the best interest of our democracy and our country.
Thank you all very much for listening. Long Live IPAC. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. God Bless all of you.
Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim
Chairman, IPAC
