2027: Why We Made Candidates Sign Anti-Defection Affidavits – NDC Explains Move

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has defended its decision to require all candidates seeking elective offices under its platform to sign indemnity and affidavit forms before being granted party tickets, insisting the policy is designed to curb defection and enforce political accountability.

According to Ireporter Online, the party said the initiative is aimed at addressing what it described as “political prostitution” and the growing trend of elected officials abandoning the parties on whose platforms they secured electoral victories.

The policy, unveiled at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, stipulates that any candidate who wins an election under the NDC banner and later defects to another political party before completing their tenure will be required to vacate their seat.

Speaking during the signing of the affidavit, NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, said the decision was necessary to protect the party’s electoral mandate and reinforce internal discipline, noting that the party could no longer ignore the recurring pattern of post-election defections.

Cleopas explained that the measure was approved by the party’s National Executive Committee as part of broader efforts to ensure that electoral mandates are not treated as personal assets by elected officials.

Reacting to criticisms trailing the policy, NDC Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Theo Abu Agada, maintained that the initiative is consistent with the Nigerian Constitution and rooted in established democratic practices.

Agada, in a detailed statement, stressed that while members remain free to exit the party, they cannot do so with the mandate that brought them into office. He added that such officials must vacate their seats and, if they wish, seek a fresh mandate under a new platform, which could trigger a by-election.

He further noted that the arrangement mirrors practices from Nigeria’s First and Second Republics as well as other established democracies, including the United Kingdom, where elected officials are expected to relinquish their seats upon defection.

Agada also clarified that the affidavit requirement does not alter constitutional provisions but rather reinforces them by providing a formal commitment that empowers the party to pursue the declaration of a vacant seat where necessary.