The Nexus between Godfatherism and Imposition of Candidates in Edo State Nigeria: Problems and Way Forward

The roles of godfathers in the political parties before, during and after parties internal democracy cannot be over mentioned. Godfathers imposed their preferred candidates (godsons) over the general will of the party. The imposition of candidates by godfathers in the political parties always cause trouble, tensions and civil unrest and lead to bad governance. The study examines the nexus between godfatherism and imposition of candidates in Edo State Nigeria: Problems and Way forward. The target area of the study includes State Party Executive of All Progressive Congress (APC) and (PDP), Local Government Executive APC and PDP, Electorates APC and PDP, INEC, Academias and Civil Society. The study adopted analytical and descriptive research types. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effects of imposition of candidates/surrogates on infrastructural developments in Edo State Nigeria. Findings revealed that, godsons' preference for political survival above administration has a detrimental effect on good governance. It also revealed that political parties' financial limitations encourage corruption, erode internal democracy. Therefore, the study recommended that (i) introduction of merit-based appointments and performance-based governance (ii) develop long-term strategies for sustainable infrastructure development in Edo State Nigeria.