The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a new anti-defection policy requiring candidates seeking elective offices on its platform to sign legal documents committing to vacate their positions if they leave the party after winning elections.
The development was disclosed during a ceremony held at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, where party officials unveiled indemnity and affidavit forms for aspirants and candidates ahead of future elections.
According to the National Chairman of the party, Moses Cleopas, the policy will apply to candidates contesting presidential, governorship, National Assembly and other elective positions under the NDC platform.
Cleopas said the decision was aimed at strengthening party discipline and preventing situations where politicians secure electoral victories on a party platform and later defect to another political party.
“In our last NEC meeting, a motion was moved, supported and adopted, establishing that when we take over government, people elected on the platform of our party must respect the party’s instrument,” he said.
The chairman stated that the party was determined to protect its electoral mandates and preserve what he described as the principle of party supremacy.
“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 within the period they ought to serve, they will, on one minor excuse, dump the platform and perhaps move to the ruling party,” he added.
Cleopas cited experiences from previous election cycles, noting that some opposition parties lost several elected members
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