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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a compulsory affidavit for all its candidates seeking elective offices, requiring them to forfeit their seats if they defect from the party after winning elections.
The national chairman of the party, Moses Cleopas, announced the policy during an indemnity signing meeting at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.
He stressed that candidates, including gubernatorial and presidential candidates, must depose to the affidavit.
Cleopas explained that the development was not a witch-hunt but aimed at protecting the sanctity of electoral mandates and curbing what he described as “post-election political migration.”
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.
The National Chairman explained that the policy was intended to ensure candidates clearly accept the condition before contesting elections under the NDC, saying: “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.”
Referencing political realignments across parties, including the Labour Party, he said such cases underscore the need for stricter internal safeguards.
“In the Labour Party, we have seen situations where people won elections on the platform and later moved elsewhere. That is the kind of thing we are trying to stop,” he said.
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 he said guarantee political participation and freedom of association, including the right to join or leave political parties.
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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.
Explaining further, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Barrister Reuben Egwuaba, expanded on the constitutional argument, saying the NDC constitution itself contains enforceable clauses on defection.
He cited Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the NDC Constitution, which, according to him, 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.”
He further said the policy aligns with the party’s internal disciplinary framework, which empowers it to demand resignation from members who abandon the platform mid-tenure.
The NDC maintained that the new rule was necessary to strengthen party discipline, preserve voter intent and reduce what it called the “distortion of electoral mandates through opportunistic defections.”
Some gubernatorial and National Assembly candidates present at the meeting signed the affidavits before the end of the event. However, the presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, had not come in for the signing, which was still ongoing as at press time.
