2027: NDC Introduces Anti-Defection Forms For Governorship, Legislative Candidates

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a new measure aimed at discouraging post-election defections, requiring all its governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly candidates to sign indemnity forms committing to vacate their seats if they leave the party after winning elections.

The policy was unveiled on Tuesday during a signing ceremony held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja and attended by aspirants and candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking at the event, the National Chairman of the NDC, Moses Cleopas, said the initiative was not intended as a witch-hunt but as a mechanism to protect electoral mandates and strengthen party discipline.

According to him, the party would no longer tolerate situations where candidates win elections on its platform only to defect while retaining their seats.

“The mandate belongs to the party and the people who voted through that platform. If you leave the party after winning, you cannot continue to hold the seat,” Cleopas said.

He explained that the policy ensures candidates clearly understand and accept the conditions attached to contesting elections under the NDC.

“We are putting this in black and white. Once you take the ticket, you are bound by it. If you leave, you leave with the seat,” he added.

Cleopas said recent political developments across parties, including the Labour Party, highlighted the need for stronger internal safeguards against defections.

“In the Labour Party, we have seen situations where people won elections on the platform and later moved elsewhere. That is the kind of thing we are trying to stop,” he said.

Defending the legal basis of the policy, the NDC chairman cited provisions of international and domestic laws, arguing that while freedom of association guarantees the right to join or leave political parties, it does not automatically entitle elected officials to retain office after defection.

He referenced Section 14 and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“It guarantees political participation and freedom of association, including the right to join or leave political parties,” he said.

Cleopas argued that elective offices emerge through party nomination processes and therefore cannot be detached from the platform that sponsored successful candidates.

The party described the initiative as both a constitutional and moral safeguard against what it termed political opportunism and defections.

“It’s an NDC-backed innovation to stop decamping and political prostitution. Anyone who wants to leave is free to do so, but must vacate the seat. Our position aligns with the Constitution,” the party stated.

The NDC, however, distinguished between constitutionally recognised party divisions and voluntary defections for personal political gain.

“If there is division in the party as defined by the Constitution, there is no problem. But where someone simply chooses to leave after winning office for a better political deal elsewhere, such a person should vacate the seat,” the party said.

The leadership added that elected officials retain the right to resign from the party but should seek fresh mandates under new political platforms through by-elections.

Drawing historical comparisons, the party referenced former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido’s resignation from the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), describing it as an example of political accountability.

According to the party, the affidavit requirement does not create new constitutional obligations but strengthens existing provisions by empowering the party to pursue legal declarations of vacant seats where necessary.

Addressing concerns over internal challenges, the NDC acknowledged that as a relatively new party,barely four months old,it was still navigating early-stage organisational issues, including primary elections and internal processes.

The party said ongoing reforms such as digitalising primaries and introducing anti-defection mechanisms demonstrate its commitment to building a sustainable political institution.

“We want everybody to stay and build the party with us. If things are not right, stay and make them right. If things are good, stay and make them better,” the party said.

Also speaking, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, argued that provisions in the NDC constitution support the anti-defection policy.

Citing Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the party’s constitution, Egwuaba maintained that elected officials remain bound to the platform through which they were elected.

“These provisions make it clear that once you are elected under the NDC, your mandate is tied to the party. If you resign from the party, you cannot retain the office,” he said.