The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is not ready to make the same mistake that the Labour Party made in the 2023 elections, which led to Presidential flagbearer Peter Obi and other prominent members easily defecting after doing well.
The strict anti-defection rule is to stop elected politicians from leaving the party.
This new policy means any NDC candidate who wins an election but later switches parties, must surrender their seat. The decision was announced on Tuesday by NDC National Chairman Moses Cleopas at the party’s headquarters in Abuja.
The rule directly affects the party’s top leaders, including presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso. It also applies to many high-profile politicians who recently moved to the NDC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC is making all its candidates sign two major legal documents before their names go live on the election portal: The Affidavit, a legal promise stating that the candidate agrees to step down from office if they walk away from the NDC.
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The leadership of the NDC wants to end a long-standing habit in Nigerian politics where winners change parties whenever they want.
Chairman Moses Cleopas explained that the party is enforcing “party supremacy” to protect the votes given to them by citizens.
“One thing we have come to observe is that in the present polity, when people contest elections and win under political parties, they become gods,” Cleopas stated.
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“They will just use one minor excuse to dump the platform and perhaps go into the ruling party.”
The NDC shaped this policy after observing other opposition groups disintegrate. Specifically, Cleopas pointed to the Labour Party, which lost a huge number of its elected members after the 2023 elections.
The NDC believes that the Labour Party would be a much stronger political force today if those winners had remained loyal instead of abandoning their platform. With this new rule, the NDC aims to establish a disciplined party that can endure for the next generation.
