NDC Makes Signing Of Affidavit Of Commitment Mandatory For Candidates To Stop Them From Defecting After ‘Election Victory’

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has taken proactive measures to stop the party’s candidates from defecting to other political parties if they earn electoral victory in the upcoming 2027 general election.

The party has made signing of affidavit of commitment mandatory for the candidates and they will forfeit their positions and parliament seats if they leave the NDC.  

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas announced this during the signing ceremony of the affidavit of commitment at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.

He noted that all the party’s candidates including gubernatorial and presidential candidates are required to sign the affidavit in question.

 ‘The mandate belongs to the party and the people who voted through that platform. If you leave the party after winning, you cannot continue to hold the seat.

 We are putting this in black and white. Once you get party nominations, you are bound by it. If you leave, you leave with the seat.

In the Labour Party, we have seen situations where people won elections on the platform and later moved elsewhere. That is the kind of thing we are trying to stop’ he said.

Cleopas cited provisions of both international and domestic legal frameworks to justify the decision to make signing of affidavit of commitment mandatory for the party’s candidates arguing that while freedom of association is guaranteed, it does not automatically extend to retaining elective office after defection.

He specifically made reference to Section 14 and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which he said guarantee political participation and freedom of association, including the right to join or leave political parties.

He also pointed to provisions of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended), arguing that democratic rights under the Constitution must be balanced with party-based electoral mandates.

Also speaking, NDC National Legal Adviser, Barrister Reuben Egwuaba cited Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the party’s constitution to support the decision to make the signing of the affidavit mandatory.

The articles he made reference to according to him stated that elected officials remain bound by the party platform through which they were elected.

‘These provisions make it clear that once you are elected under the NDC, your mandate is tied to the party. If you resign from the party, you cannot retain the office’ he said

He also asserted that signing the affidavit is mandatory.

‘Without this affidavit, your name will not even be uploaded to the INEC portal. It is a strict requirement’ he submitted while noting that this will help to address ‘legal loopholes that allow post-election defections without consequences’-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079,  08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you