NDC Makes Aspirants Sign Anti-Defection Affidavit Ahead of 2027 Elections

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a mandatory indemnity and affidavit requirement for its governorship and National Assembly candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections, as part of efforts to curb political defections and strengthen party loyalty.

Speaking during the signing ceremony at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, the National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, said the policy was designed to ensure that candidates elected on the platform of the party remain loyal throughout their tenure or forfeit the mandates secured under its banner.

Cleopas said the NDC was established following an assessment of Nigeria’s political landscape and concerns over the weakening of political parties through the frequent defection of elected officials.

According to him, all aspirants and candidates seeking elective office on the party’s platform are required to formally commit to the anti-defection policy before receiving party tickets.

“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 NDC chairman maintained that elected officials should not retain positions won under the party after defecting to another political platform, arguing that the mandate belongs to the party and the electorate who voted through that platform.

He said recent political realignments across parties, including the Labour Party, highlighted the need for stronger internal mechanisms to discourage defections.

Cleopas warned that defections by elected officials weaken political institutions, undermine public trust and erode the democratic process.

He added that unlike parties formed primarily to win elections, the NDC was conceived as a long-term institution aimed at ensuring continuity, discipline and ideological consistency.

The party chairman further stated that the anti-defection policy was intended to prevent the collapse of political institutions and keep the party strong both in and out of government.

On the legal basis of the policy, Cleopas cited provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Nigeria’s Constitution, arguing that while individuals have the right to join or leave political parties, such rights do not automatically confer the right to retain elective offices obtained through a party platform.

Also speaking, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, said the NDC had made it compulsory for all aspirants to swear an affidavit before a competent court affirming their acceptance of the party’s anti-defection provisions.

Egwuaba explained that the affidavit would form part of the nomination documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He said judicial precedents have consistently recognised the central role of political parties in elections and the emergence of candidates through party structures.

According to him, candidates who fail to sign the affidavit will not be cleared to contest elections on the party’s platform.

“Without this affidavit, your name will not even be uploaded to the INEC portal. It is a strict requirement,” he said.

Egwuaba added that the measure was aimed at closing what he described as legal loopholes that enable elected officials to defect after elections without consequences.

He also cited provisions of the NDC Constitution, which he said establish that elected officials remain bound to the party platform through which they were elected.

The party said it would rely on the signed affidavits and other legal instruments to enforce the policy whenever elected officials abandon the NDC for another political party after winning elections.

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