The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced that its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, will not be required to sign the party’s newly introduced anti-defection oath.
The party’s National Spokesman, Ikenna Enekweizu, disclosed this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Enekweizu defended the legality of the policy, arguing that political parties are voluntary associations whose members are bound by their constitutions and internal regulations. He dismissed claims that the anti-defection oath contravenes Nigeria’s Constitution, insisting that the requirement is fully backed by the NDC’s constitution.
He explained that although the party’s constitution provides that all candidates contesting elections on its platform should sign the affidavit, the leadership had exercised its administrative powers to exempt the presidential candidate and his running mate.
“The constitution says everybody running under the platform of the party has to sign, but the party has taken the administrative decision that those required to sign in this instance do not include the presidential candidate and his vice,” Enekweizu said.
According to him, the anti-defection policy is primarily aimed at lawmakers who secure elective offices on the party’s platform but later defect to other political parties.
“Our main focus is not the governor; it’s not the president; it’s the National and State Assembly members elected on the platform of our party,” he stated.
Enekweizu said the NDC is determined to build a strong and enduring political institution and would not allow politicians to use the party merely as a vehicle to gain public office before switching allegiance.
He noted that the anti-defection oath is part of broader efforts to strengthen party discipline, promote loyalty, and protect the mandate entrusted to elected officials by voters.
The development comes after the NDC recently unveiled the anti-defection policy in response to the growing trend of elected officials abandoning the political parties that sponsored their elections. Party leaders have argued that frequent defections weaken political institutions, undermine internal democracy, and erode public confidence in the electoral process.
