The Nigeria Democratic Congress has made all its governorship and National Assembly candidates sign indemnity forms committing them to vacate their seats if they defect after winning on the party’s platform.
The NDC just gave its candidates a serious reason to think twice before jumping ship.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Nigeria Democratic Congress has compelled all its governorship and National Assembly candidates to sign indemnity forms — binding documents that require them to vacate their seats if they leave the party after winning election on its platform, according to PM News Nigeria.
The new rule was unveiled by the party’s National Chairman, Sen. Moses Cleopas, during a signing ceremony at the NDC’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, attended by aspirants and candidates positioning themselves for next year’s polls.
Cleopas was careful to frame the move as protective, not punitive. He insisted it wasn’t “a witch-hunt” but rather a step to safeguard the integrity of electoral mandates and stop what he called “post-election political migration” — a polite way of describing Nigeria’s all-too-familiar habit of politicians winning on one party’s ticket, then defecting once safely in office.
His message to candidates was blunt and unambiguous: “We are putting this in black and white. Once you take the ticket, you are bound by it. If you leave, you leave with the seat.”
With defections a perennial headache for Nigerian political parties, the NDC seems determined to close that loophole before votes are even cast in 2027.
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