NDC makes candidates sign affidavit: Lose your seat if you defect

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has told its governorship and National Assembly candidates: sign this affidavit, or forget about running.

From now on, every aspirant must swear before a court that they accept the party's anti-defection rules. If they later win an election on the NDC platform and then move to another party, they must vacate the seat. The mandate, the party insists, belongs to the party — not the person who won it.

The party's National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, announced the policy on Wednesday at the NDC secretariat in Abuja. He said the signing ceremony was attended by aspirants and candidates preparing for the 2027 elections.

“We're putting this in black and white. Once you take the ticket, you're bound by it. If you leave, you leave with the seat,” Cleopas said.

He pointed to recent defections in other parties, including the Labour Party, as the kind of thing the NDC wants to stop. “In the Labour Party, we've seen situations where people won elections on the platform and later moved elsewhere. That's the kind of thing we're trying to stop,” he said.

Cleopas argued that post-election defections weaken political institutions, undermine public trust, and erode democracy. He said the NDC was built as a long-term institution, not just a vehicle to win elections. Studies of successful political parties around the world, he added, influenced the decision to adopt strict loyalty structures.

The party's National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, provided the legal backing. He said the Constitution guarantees freedom of association, including the right to join or leave a political party. But that right, he argued, doesn't automatically transfer an electoral mandate from the sponsoring party to the individual.

“The party is committed to enforcing the policy through legal means,” Egwuaba said. He disclosed that the affidavit will form part of the nomination documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Cleopas cited both international and domestic legal frameworks. He referenced Section 14 and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which guarantee political participation and freedom of association. He also pointed to Nigeria's 1999 Constitution, arguing that democratic rights must be balanced with party-based electoral mandates.

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

The NDC is a relatively new party. Cleopas said it was established after a careful assessment of Nigeria's political landscape and the recurring problem of parties being weakened by defections. The party aims to remain strong both in and out of government.

The move is the latest effort by a Nigerian political party to curb the trend of politicians switching parties after winning elections. Whether the affidavit will hold up in court isn't clear yet — but the NDC has made its position clear.