By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — Ahead of the 2027 presidential and general elections, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a mandatory indemnity and affidavit requirement for all its governorship and National Assembly candidates as part of efforts to curb political defections.

The party said the policy is designed to preserve loyalty among elected officials and strengthen democratic institutions, warning that it would rely on the signed affidavits if any candidate defects to another political party after winning an election on the NDC platform.

Speaking at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, the National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, said the NDC was established after a careful assessment of Nigeria’s political landscape and the recurring weakening of political parties through post-election defections.

The signing ceremony, attended by aspirants and candidates preparing for the 2027 elections, was used to formally unveil the policy.

Cleopas explained that the measure was intended to ensure candidates clearly understand and accept the party’s anti-defection provisions before contesting elections.

“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.

According to him, the party will not tolerate situations where elected officials abandon the platform that brought them to power while retaining 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 added.

Referencing political realignments across various parties, including the Labour Party, Cleopas said recent developments underscore the need for stronger 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.

He argued that such actions weaken political institutions, undermine public trust and erode the democratic process.

Cleopas noted that unlike many political parties established primarily to win elections, the NDC was conceived as a long-term institution designed to outlive its founders and remain relevant across generations.

According to him, studies of successful political parties around the world influenced the party’s decision to adopt structures that would guarantee continuity, discipline and ideological consistency.

He lamented what he described as a growing trend in Nigeria where politicians secure electoral victories on one platform and later defect after assuming office.

The NDC chairman reiterated that all elected officials produced by the party must remain loyal to it throughout their tenure or relinquish the mandates secured under its banner.

He stressed that electoral mandates belong to political parties rather than individual candidates.

“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.

Cleopas said the policy was adopted to prevent the collapse of political institutions and ensure the party remains strong both in and out of government.

On the legal basis of the policy, he cited both international and domestic legal frameworks, arguing that while freedom of association is guaranteed, it does not automatically confer the right to retain elective office after defection.

He 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), maintaining that democratic rights must be balanced with party-based electoral mandates.

According to him, elected officeholders are products of party nomination systems and cannot separate their mandates from the platforms that sponsored them.

Providing further legal justification for the policy, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, said judicial precedents have consistently affirmed the central role of political parties in elections.

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.

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

“The party is committed to enforcing the policy through lawful means and in accordance with the Constitution,” he said.

Citing Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the NDC Constitution, Egwuaba said the provisions establish that elected officials remain bound to the party platform under 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.

He added that the affidavit requirement would serve as a legally enforceable undertaking and a prerequisite for nomination.

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

According to the legal adviser, the measure is intended to close what he described as “legal loopholes that allow post-election defections without consequence.”

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