The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a new anti-defection policy that will require all candidates seeking elective offices on its platform to sign affidavits and indemnity forms pledging not to abandon the party after winning elections.
The policy, unveiled on Tuesday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, is expected to apply to all candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections, including the party’s presidential flagbearer, Peter Obi, his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and other recent entrants into the party.
Speaking during the ceremony, NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, said the move was aimed at protecting the party’s electoral mandate and strengthening internal discipline.
According to him, the party had become increasingly concerned about politicians who secure victory on a party platform only to defect to rival parties after assuming office.
“In recent years, we have seen elected officials treat political parties as mere vehicles to achieve personal ambitions,” Cleopas said. “Once they get into office, some abandon the platform that gave them the mandate. We want to put an end to that culture.”
He noted that the NDC’s National Executive Committee approved the measure as part of efforts to build a stronger institution that would outlive individual politicians.
Cleopas pointed to the experience of the Labour Party after the 2023 elections, arguing that the opposition party would have been stronger today if many of its elected members had remained loyal.
“If those who won elections under the Labour Party had stayed, imagine how influential the party could have become, even without winning the presidency,” he said.
Under the new arrangement, candidates must sign legally binding documents before receiving the party’s ticket. The documents state that any elected official who defects from the NDC must relinquish the mandate won on the party’s platform.
“The mandate belongs to the party,” Cleopas stressed. “If you choose to leave after winning, then you should also leave behind what the party gave you.”
NDC National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, defended the policy, describing political parties as voluntary associations governed by rules accepted by their members.
“A candidate is merely an agent of the party,” he said. “Winning an election does not transfer ownership of the mandate to the individual. The mandate remains with the political party.”
Notably absent from the event were Obi and Kwankwaso, two of the party’s most prominent figures.
The policy is widely seen as an attempt by the NDC to avoid the wave of defections that has weakened opposition parties in Nigeria over the years.
Both Obi and Kwankwaso have belonged to multiple political parties during their careers. Obi has moved through the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, African Democratic Congress and now the NDC.
Kwankwaso has also been a member of the PDP, All Progressives Congress, New Nigeria Peoples Party, ADC and NDC.
Party leaders say the new rule is designed to ensure loyalty, preserve electoral mandates and strengthen the party’s position ahead of the 2027 elections.
