NDC takes steps to curb defections, requires candidates to sign indemnity forms

Says Party will rely on the Affidavit when Candidates leave after winning Elections

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA – Ahead of the 2027 Presidential and general elections, the National Leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has required all its governorship and National Assembly candidates to sign mandatory indemnity forms.

The party says the policy is a stringent anti‑defection measure designed to preserve party loyalty and strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions. It also warned that the party would rely on the affidavit if candidates defect to other parties after winning elections.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the Party’s National Secretariat, National Chairman Senator Moses Cleopas explained that the NDC was founded after a careful assessment of Nigeria’s political landscape and the persistent weakening of parties through defections by elected officials.

The signing ceremony was attended by aspirants and candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections. Chairman Cleopas said the policy was intended to ensure candidates clearly accept the condition before contesting elections under the NDC, adding, “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 said the party would not tolerate situations where elected officials abandon the platform that brought them to office but seek to retain the mandate.

“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,” he said.

Chairman Cleopas noted that unlike many parties established mainly to win elections, the NDC was created as a long‑term institution designed to outlive its founders and remain relevant across generations. He said extensive studies of successful political parties worldwide influenced the decision to adopt structures that would ensure continuity, discipline and ideological consistency.

He lamented what he described as a growing culture in Nigeria where politicians secure electoral victories on one party’s platform but later abandon that platform after assuming office. The chairman cited the experiences of several parties, including the Labour Party, where many elected officials have allegedly left the platform that brought them to office.

Cleopas announced that the party has resolved that all elected officials produced on its platform must remain loyal to the NDC throughout their tenure or relinquish the mandates secured under the party’s banner.

He stressed that the party ticket belongs to the political party and not to any individual candidate, insisting that elected officials cannot separate themselves from the platform that sponsored their election.

“Anyone who chooses to leave the party after winning an election under our platform must also surrender the mandate obtained through the party,” he declared.

The chairman explained that the policy was adopted to prevent the collapse of political institutions and ensure that the party remains strong both in and out of government.

On the legal basis of the policy, Cleopas cited provisions of both international and domestic legal frameworks, arguing that while freedom of association is guaranteed, it does not automatically extend to retaining elective office after defection.

He specifically referenced Section 14 and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantee political participation and freedom of association, including the right to join or leave political parties.

He also pointed to provisions of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended), arguing that democratic rights under the Constitution must be balanced with party‑based electoral mandates. According to him, elected officeholders are products of party nomination systems and therefore cannot separate their mandate from the platform that sponsored their election.

Providing the legal basis for the policy, the party’s National Legal Adviser Reuben Egwuaba said that judicial precedents have consistently affirmed that political parties play a central role in elections and that candidates emerge through party structures.

He explained that while the Constitution guarantees freedom of association, including the right to join or leave a political party, such rights do not automatically transfer the electoral mandate from the sponsoring party to an elected official.

The legal adviser stated that the NDC has introduced a mandatory affidavit for all aspirants seeking elective office on the party’s platform. According to him, every candidate must swear before a competent court that they understand and accept the party’s anti‑defection provisions before their nomination can be processed.

He added that the affidavit will form part of the nomination documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stressing that the party is committed to enforcing the policy through lawful means and in accordance with the Constitution.

He cited Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the NDC Constitution, which establish that elected officials remain bound by the party 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.

Egwuaba added that the affidavit requirement would serve as an enforceable legal undertaking, binding candidates before they are cleared to contest. “Without this affidavit, your name will not even be uploaded to the INEC portal. It is a strict requirement,” he said.

The legal adviser explained that the measure was intended to close what he described as “legal loopholes that allow post‑election defections without consequence.”

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