2027: NDC moves to curb defections, compels candidates sign indemnity forms

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The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a strict anti-defection policy requiring all its governorship and National Assembly candidates to sign mandatory indemnity affidavits ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The party said the measure is aimed at strengthening party loyalty, preserving electoral mandates and discouraging elected officials from defecting to other political parties after securing victory on the NDC platform.

Speaking at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday, the National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, said the policy was adopted following concerns over the growing trend of politicians abandoning the parties that sponsored their elections.

According to him, candidates who secure elective positions on the NDC platform would be expected to remain with the party throughout their tenure or surrender the mandate obtained through the party.

“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,” Cleopas said.

He maintained that electoral mandates belong to political parties and the voters who support those platforms, insisting that elected officials should not retain seats won under a party after defecting elsewhere.

“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.

The NDC chairman cited recent political defections across several parties, including the Labour Party, as examples of developments that have weakened political institutions and undermined voters’ confidence in the democratic process.

“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 stated.

Cleopas said the NDC was established not merely as an election-winning vehicle but as a long-term political institution built on discipline, continuity and ideological consistency.

He argued that frequent defections by elected officials weaken party structures and hinder democratic development.

Providing legal justification for the policy, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, said every aspirant seeking elective office under the party must swear an affidavit before a competent court affirming acceptance of the anti-defection provisions.

According to him, the affidavit will form part of the nomination documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

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

He added that the party’s constitution clearly establishes that elected officials remain bound to the platform through which they secured office.

“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 stated.

The legal adviser argued that while the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of association, including the right to join or leave political parties, such rights do not automatically transfer electoral mandates from political parties to individual officeholders.

According to him, the affidavit requirement is intended to close what he described as legal loopholes that have enabled post-election defections without consequences.