NDC Introduces Anti-Defection Pact for Obi, Kwankwaso, Others

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has unveiled a stringent anti-defection policy requiring all its candidates seeking elective offices to sign indemnity and affidavit forms pledging to relinquish their seats if they defect from the party after winning elections. The policy, announced on Tuesday at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, is aimed at strengthening internal discipline and preventing the wave of post-election defections that has weakened several opposition parties in recent years. Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, explained that the decision was informed by years of observing politicians secure electoral victories on party platforms only to abandon them for personal or political convenience, and he specifically pointed to the experience of the Labour Party after the 2023 elections as a cautionary tale. Cleopas stated, “A very typical example that we have all seen in the last three years is the Labour Party, where so many individuals won elections under the platform of the party. Now, we are in another election cycle. Go and check their history. How many of the people who won elections under the Labour Party and were inaugurated are still members of the party? If all of them had remained, you and I can imagine how the Labour Party could have been today, even if they had not won the presidency.”

Cleopas stressed that the NDC was founded to build an enduring political institution rather than serve as a temporary vehicle for personal ambitions, noting that the party had observed a trend where elected public office holders became detached from the political structures that produced them after winning elections. He stated, “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. And in between the time that they ought to have, they will just use one minor excuse to dump the platform and perhaps go into the ruling party.” The party chairman emphasized that while membership of the NDC is voluntary, anyone seeking to contest elections on its platform must agree to abide by its rules, stating that candidates would be required to sign affidavit and indemnity forms before receiving the party’s ticket, making it clear that if they choose to leave the party after winning, they must also surrender the mandate obtained through the party’s platform. He declared, “If you win, the mandate is owned by the party. If you otherwise choose to leave, go the same way you came and leave what you picked from here.” Cleopas also referenced provisions of the NDC Constitution, specifically Articles 1, 2 and 3, which establish that elected officials remain bound by the party platform through which they were elected.

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The party’s National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, defended the policy, describing political parties as voluntary associations governed by internal rules accepted by members, and he cited constitutional provisions and judicial precedents, including landmark Supreme Court decisions, to support the party’s position that candidates function as agents of their political parties during elections. Egwuaba stated, “A political party is just like a club, church or mosque where there are rules and regulations. That is why the 1999 constitution, under Section 222, states that a candidate of a political party is just a mere agent of the party. And once a candidate is declared the winner and inaugurated, until the expiration of the tenure upon which that candidate won the election and was inaugurated, the mandate belongs to the political party, not any other.” Egwuaba stressed that the policy does not infringe on the constitutional right of freedom of association because candidates remain free to leave the party whenever they choose—but they must forfeit the seat obtained through the party’s platform. He insisted that adherence to the new requirement is non-negotiable under the party’s internal rules, warning that without the signed affidavit, a candidate’s name cannot be uploaded in the INEC portal. According to Egwuaba, the mandatory affidavit will serve as a binding legal undertaking, and candidates must swear before a competent court that they understand and accept the party’s anti-defection terms before their names can be processed. The party 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.

In a clarification that drew attention, the party’s Director of New Media and Strategic Communication, Theo Agada, stated that the policy does not affect the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, explaining that the party trusts the commitment of its presidential and vice presidential nominees, and they are not bound by this policy. Agada stated, “The policy does not affect the presidential candidate, His Excellency Peter Obi, and the vice presidential candidate, His Excellency Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. The party trusts the commitment of our presidential and vice presidential nominees, and they are not bound by this policy. This internal policy is aimed at building the NDC as an institution and preventing political prostitution among some of its members.” However, multiple reports indicate that despite the significance of the policy, several prominent party figures, including Obi and Kwankwaso, were absent from the signing ceremony at the party’s national secretariat, and aspirants who were absent were directed to obtain, complete, and submit the required documents as a condition for final validation and submission of their names to INEC. Some gubernatorial and National Assembly candidates present at the meeting signed the affidavits before the end of the event.

The policy is widely seen as an attempt by the NDC to avoid the wave of defections that has weakened several opposition parties in recent years, and notably, both Obi and Kwankwaso have moved across multiple political platforms throughout their careers. Obi’s political journey has taken him from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , the Labour Party , the African Democratic Congress (ADC) , and eventually the NDC , while Kwankwaso has also belonged to multiple parties, including the PDP, the All Progressives Congress (APC) , the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) , the ADC, and the NDC. Former Adamawa State governorship candidate, Aishatu Binani, is also among recent entrants into the NDC, having moved from the APC to the ADC before joining the party in 2026, and the new anti-defection policy is expected to affect several high-profile politicians who recently joined the NDC ahead of the 2027 general elections. NDC leaders say the initiative forms part of a broader effort to redefine Nigeria’s political culture, strengthen party supremacy, and promote greater accountability among elected officials, with the party expressing hope that the policy would encourage ideological commitment, reduce opportunistic defections, and contribute to the development of stronger democratic institutions in the country. Cleopas concluded, “This is not just a party for one man to rise and achieve his ambitions and do anything he likes with the party. This is a political party that we desire to groom and hand over to the next generation.”

NDC Introduces Anti-Defection Pact for Obi, Kwankwaso, Others