NDC forces Obi, Kwankwaso to sign anti-defection pact ahead of 2027 elections

Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso will have to sign a legally binding promise to leave their seats if they ever dump the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) — or they won't get the party's ticket for 2027.

The NDC unveiled the strict anti-defection policy on Tuesday at its national secretariat in Abuja. Every candidate for elective office must sign affidavit and indemnity forms committing to vacate their position if they defect after winning. The rule hits the party's biggest names: presidential candidate Obi, his running mate Kwankwaso, and other recent entrants.

NDC National Chairman Moses Cleopas said the decision came after repeated cases of politicians winning on a party's platform and then jumping ship.

“In our last NEC meeting, a motion was moved, supported, and established that when we take over the government, people elected on the platform of our party must respect the party's instrument,” Cleopas said.

He pointed directly at the Labour Party's experience after the 2023 elections as a cautionary tale.

“A very typical example that we have all seen in the last three years is the Labour Party, where so many individuals won elections under the platform of the party. Now, we are in another election cycle. Go and check their history. How many of the people who won elections under the Labour Party and were inaugurated are still members of the party?” he asked.

Cleopas said the NDC was determined to avoid that fate.

“If all of them had remained, you and I can imagine how the Labour Party could have been today, even if they had not won the presidency,” he stated.

The policy makes crystal clear that the party owns the mandate — not the candidate.

“If you win, the mandate is owned by the party. If you otherwise choose to leave, go the same way you came and leave what you picked from here,” Cleopas said.

Candidates will be required to fill and take an oath on the documents before receiving the party's ticket. The party's National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, defended the policy, citing Section 222 of the 1999 constitution which states that a candidate is a mere agent of the party.

“A political party is just like a club, church or mosque where there are rules and regulations,” Egwuaba said.

He argued that the mandate belongs to the party until the tenure expires.

“So, if you are privileged to win the election after clinching the party ticket, that does not mean the mandate belongs to you,” he added.

Cleopas stressed that no one is forced to join the NDC.

“If you want to contest the election under the platform of the NDC, you are free to come. Nobody is forcing you. But when you come, you should know that there are certain rules by which we, as a political party, guide our members,” he said.

The NDC was formed in 2024 as a merger of the Labour Party faction loyal to Obi, Kwankwaso's New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and other opposition groups. The party has positioned itself as the main challenger to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027. Obi was the Labour Party candidate in 2023, finishing third behind Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar. Kwankwaso ran under the NNPP and came fourth.

The anti-defection pact is one of the toughest in Nigerian politics. Most parties have weak internal rules that rarely stop defections. The 1999 constitution allows lawmakers to defect only if there is a division in their party, but the provision is often ignored. The NDC's new policy tries to close that loophole with a private contract.

Whether the affidavit will hold up in court remains uncertain. No Nigerian court has enforced a similar pre-election agreement against a defecting politician. But the NDC is betting that a signed indemnity form will be harder to ignore than a party's verbal complaint.