The conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has called on the Federal Government to make political debate mandatory for the presidential and governorship candidates of all political parties ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The CNPP also called on the National Assembly to enact a law to make participation in the presidential and governorship debates mandatory part of the electoral process.

In a statement, yesterday, the Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, noted: “In the history of election debates in the country, it is either that some candidates deliberately refused to attend the debates or they were excluded by the organisers based on prejudices.”

According to CNPP, legalising the presidential and governorship debates will go a long way in helping the electorate to make informed decisions on the choice of leaders.

Ezugwu added: “In advanced democracies, like the United States of America, from where Nigeria borrowed its presidential system, debates are not constitutionally mandated, but they are considered an intrinsic part of the American electoral process, such that no serious contender in the presidential race can afford to stay away from any scheduled debate.

“While Nigeria has been holding presidential and governorship debates, they have been everything but organised and mandatory for candidates to appear. In Nigeria, media organisations and non-governmental bodies have attempted to set up platforms for presidential and governorship debates, but participation remained at the discretion of the candidates or the organisers.”

He lamented the selection, by the organisers, of candidates, especially those considered to be top contenders, while the rest are excluded, thereby failing to provide a level-playing ground for all candidates.

“CNPP believes that in order for election debates to achieve the intended purposes, there is need to make governorship and presidential debates mandatory for all candidates,” Ezugwu said.

“The debates should be consciously made a veritable platform for the general public to screen persons seeking to represent them at any level in government through elections and as an avenue to increase political participation in the country,” CNPP stated.

It, therefore, called on the National Assembly to immediately set up modalities for making it customary for candidates to engage in debates as part of the country’s electioneering process, especially at the presidential and governorship levels.

“This can be achieved by enacting a law for the establishment of a National Commission on Election Debates, with a mandate to organise debates for candidates. The commission should be empowered to appropriately sanction candidates that fail to participate.

“If it takes Nigeria a constitution amendment to achieve this, it will be a legacy achievement worth leaving by any administration, as the overall gain of establishing such a commission for the purposes of developing and deepening democracy cannot be quantified in monetary terms.”