‘Obi, Kwankwaso Exempted’ – NDC Reveals Why It Introduced Anti-defection Oath

The National Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Ikenna Enekweizu, has defended the party’s decision to introduce a loyalty oath for its candidates, insisting that the measure is constitutional and aimed at curbing defections by elected officials.

Naija News reports that Enekweizu stated this on Wednesday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he dismissed criticism that the policy violated constitutional rights.

According to him, political parties have the authority to establish internal rules that are binding on their members.

“First and foremost, a political party is like any other association, and every member who subscribes to the membership of the party is bound by the provisions of the constitution of the party and decisions taken by the party’s properly constituted authorities,” Enekweizu said.

“Within NDC, the decision to make people sign that affidavit is provided for in our constitution.”

The NDC secretary argued that established legal principles support the position that members of an association are obligated to comply with the provisions of its constitution.

“Any lawyer would know it is trite law that members of any association are bound by the provisions of that constitution. There are several decided cases on this,” he added.

“You can only test that in the law courts. At this stage, we have not gotten to that point. What we are trying to do is to learn from the mistakes of other parties.”

The NDC recently unveiled the loyalty affidavit policy, saying it was designed to protect the party’s institutional integrity and ensure that elected officials remain loyal to the platform on which they won elections.

National Chairman of the party, Moses Cleopas, had said the decision was informed by repeated cases of politicians abandoning the parties that sponsored them into office.

Echoing the chairman’s position, Enekweizu said the party was determined not to become a platform that politicians use solely to secure electoral victories before moving elsewhere.

“We are trying to prevent a situation where people see our political party only as a special purpose vehicle for winning elections,” he said.

“We are trying to build a party that will last and stand the test of time—where people do not just say, ‘Oh, because a particular person is contesting under this platform, let us go there, and the moment we win elections, we all leave.’

“We won’t permit that in our party.”

Enekweizu referenced the experience of the Labour Party following the 2023 general elections, noting that many lawmakers elected on the platform later defected to other parties.

According to him, the NDC is determined to avoid a similar situation by putting safeguards in place ahead of future elections.

The party secretary, however, disclosed that the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, would not be required to sign the loyalty affidavit.

“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,” he said.

He explained that the party’s primary concern was with legislators who defect shortly after being elected.

“We are more concerned about those elected into the legislative assemblies who get in there and defect within a year,” Enekweizu stated.

“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.”