The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has introduced a stringent new internal rule requiring all its candidates to execute indemnity-backed affidavits committing to surrender their elective mandates if they defect from the party after winning elections.
The policy, announced in Abuja by the party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe, is aimed at tightening internal discipline and addressing what the party describes as an entrenched culture of political defections undermining Nigeria’s democratic stability.
Speaking at the unveiling and signing ceremony, Zuwoghe said the initiative represents a decisive shift in political party management, stressing that elective mandates obtained on the NDC platform are held in trust for the party and its ideology, not for individual politicians.
According to him, the party was designed as a long-term political institution rather than a temporary electoral platform for personal ambition.
“Our objective is to build a party that endures beyond its founders. That vision becomes impossible if elected officials abandon the platform that brought them into office,” he said.
Zuwoghe expressed concern over the rising trend of post-election defections, warning that it weakens party structures, erodes voter trust, and distorts democratic accountability.
Under the new framework, every NDC aspirant must sign an indemnity agreement alongside a sworn affidavit prior to nomination, legally binding them to the party’s terms of mandate retention.
The party maintains that any elected official who defects after benefiting from its platform will be required to relinquish the office obtained through the party.
“Nigerians vote based on party programmes and ideology. If you choose to exit the party after victory, then you must also forfeit the mandate secured under that platform,” Zuwoghe added.
Providing legal justification, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Barrister Reuben Egwuaba, said electoral mandates are fundamentally anchored on political party platforms.
He argued that existing constitutional interpretation and judicial precedents support the view that candidates act as representatives of their parties during elections.
Egwuaba explained that the indemnity affidavit will serve as a binding condition for nomination across all elective positions, including the presidency, governorships, and legislative seats.
He further maintained that the policy does not violate constitutional rights, noting that members remain free to leave the party at any time, but not without consequences tied to the mandate secured under its platform.
“The party is not restricting movement. What it is doing is enforcing indemnity obligations attached to the mandate earned through its structure,” he said.
NDC leaders say the reform is part of a broader effort to entrench ideological discipline, strengthen party supremacy, and curb opportunistic political migration.
They expressed optimism that the policy will reduce defections, deepen accountability, and encourage stronger loyalty to party ideology in Nigeria’s evolving democratic system.
As political activities intensify ahead of future elections, the NDC believes its indemnity-based framework could ignite wider national debate on the legal and moral ownership of electoral mandates in the country’s democracy.