Prof. Anthony Kila, director at the Institute of the Commonwealth, jurist, political economist, strategist, and policy analyst, has suggested that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should require political parties to have in-house psychiatrists as part of ongoing electoral reforms.

He made the remark following the recent clash at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretariat, where rival factions led by Tanimu Turaki and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike engaged in a confrontation while attempting to hold parallel meetings, causing chaos at the facility.

During the incident, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed claimed that he and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, were teargassed. After order was restored, Turaki assumed office as the National Chairman of the party, accompanied by the two governors.

Commenting on the incident, Prof. Kila said:
“What we saw there is a show of shame in terms of form and process. The content can be legitimate, but it underlines a flaw in the Nigerian partisan political elite class.”

He emphasized the need for mental health expertise within parties:
“I understand this morning that a lot of psychiatrists are not where they ought to be. It might be a good idea that INEC should include a law to say that every party should have an in-house psychiatrist to deal with issues of the party as well.”

Prof. Kila added that the incident highlights broader systemic issues in Nigerian politics:
“Normally, political parties are made up of people of like minds who are bound together by a common, shared purpose. The fact that these people can deploy police officers, shout, shove, and resort to expelling and fighting one another shows you they’re not like minds. They’re not friends, they’re not peers. They’re there to grab power. Most partisan political parties in Nigeria share these uncivilized, unbecoming, uninspiring traits, and we need to look at it as a system problem, not just a PDP problem.”