National Auditor of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and one of the party’s governorship aspirants in the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State, Chief George Moghalu, has described personal pursuit among politicians as the reason for perpetual defection and absence of consistency and continuity in party politics in Nigeria.

Moghalu made the declaration at a forum organised by the Anambra State chapter of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Awka where he also stated that political parties are being used to promote personal and sectional interest at the expense of national integration and development.

Delivering a lecture titled “Political Ideology And Consistency In Party Politics: A Case Study of Contemporary Nigeria”, Muoghalu said: “Once it is impossible to continue promoting personal interests in their original parties, politicians will continue to move from one party to another, abandoning ideologies once held with such quick succession that can be compared to the frequency of the lightning that accompanies a thunderstorm.

“The poverty of political ideology seen in the Nigerian political sphere has shown such negative effects on both the political parties and the nation at large.

“The project of national rebirth has been most hit because rather than consolidating development, parties have been used to promote sectionalism and opportunism.

“We must replace politics of religion, ethnicity and money with steadfastness, dedication to well-defined principles, consistence and commitment to chosen political parties. Defections must be reduced.

“The era of mortgaging values and virtues at the altar of money, lust for power and recognition must be abandoned. The politics of value cannot exist without ideology.”

Moghalu attributed the frequent cross-carpeting by politicians to lack of clear cut political ideologies in the existing political parties.

He observed that to most Nigerians, party ideologies were mere ideas needed to formalise the creation of any political party, which would be neither upheld, nor valued.

Furthermore, he said, “The resultant effect is that politics of issue has been long forgotten and relegated to the background, while identity and money politics have become the forerunners.

“It is because of this trend and the rise of selfish and parochial interest, as well as the high level of party indiscipline and the absence or weakness of party unity, that the presence of ideology in Nigerian politics is constantly being questioned.”

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