Explanation

Political parties organize to contest elections and control government. Functions: recruit/train political leaders, educate voters, articulate interests, organize elections, form governments, and serve as opposition.

Party systems: one-party (single legal party), two-party (two dominant), multi-party (several compete). Nigeria has registered multi-party system but few parties dominate (APC, PDP historically).

Challenges in Nigeria: weak ideology (parties lack distinct platforms), personality-based politics, defection, monetization of politics, godfatherism, and ethnic/religious rather than issue-based support.