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NDC chieftain Asukewe Ikoawaji has defended the party’s proposed anti-defection oath, saying the measure is intended to protect electoral mandates and prevent elected officials from leaving the party after securing victory on its platform.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Ikoawaji said the decision was informed by growing concerns over politicians who win elections under one party and later defect to another.
“It is wrong and not acceptable. It’s undemocratic for somebody to take a mandate of a political party and move to another party,” he said.
According to Ikoawaji, the mandate secured at the polls belongs to the political party rather than an individual candidate.
“If you have our mandate, which is the mandate of Nigerians, and on your own decide to move the mandate to another party, you can go and leave the mandate,” he stated.
He stated that the NDC introduced the oath as part of efforts to strengthen party discipline and safeguard the trust reposed in the party by voters.
“It is not individuals that have been voted for, it is the party that has been voted for,” he said.
Ikoawaji mentioned past political developments in Nigeria as examples of why stronger measures are needed to discourage defections.
“We are looking at all these things and that is why we are coming out with this decision,” he stated.
According to him, the party is also taking precautionary measures to prevent infiltration and protect its internal processes ahead of future elections.
“We are not also ignorant of what the ruling party and other agencies of government want to do,” he said.
He maintained that while the NDC remains open to new members, the party must ensure that those seeking its platform are committed to its objectives.
“We have an open door for everybody but at the same time we are conscious of what we are doing,” he stated.
Ikoawaji said the anti-defection oath forms part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening democratic accountability within the party.
“All these measures have been put in place so that by tomorrow Nigerians will have a fallback like NDC,” he said.
Ikoawaji concluded that the NDC’s anti-defection oath is necessary to preserve the integrity of the party’s electoral mandates, arguing that candidates who choose to leave the party after winning elections should not retain mandates secured on the platform of the NDC.
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