Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has unveiled a new internal political policy requiring all its candidates to sign legally binding affidavits committing them to surrender their electoral mandates if they defect from the party after winning office.

Meanwhile, the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, said Nigeria’s challenges can be addressed through deliberate policies, investments in human capital and inclusive governance, insisting that effective governance is “not rocket science.”

However, the Minister of State for Defence, Mohammed Matawalle, expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu’s achievements in office will ultimately silence his critics and political opponents ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC’s move, announced in Abuja by the party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Zuwoghe, is aimed at strengthening party discipline and curbing the growing culture of political defections that has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s democracy.

Speaking during the official signing ceremony, Zuwoghe described the initiative as a major departure from conventional political practices, insisting that elected offices secured on a party’s platform belong primarily to the party, not to individual officeholders.

According to him, the NDC was founded to build an enduring political institution rather than serve as a temporary vehicle for personal ambitions.

He said the party’s leadership carefully studied successful democratic systems around the world before introducing measures to protect party ideology, loyalty, and institutional continuity.

“Our goal is to build a political party that will outlive its founders and become a lasting institution for future generations. We cannot achieve that if elected officials freely abandon the platform that gave them victory,” he said.

Under the new arrangement, any NDC candidate seeking elective office must execute an indemnity agreement and a sworn affidavit before being cleared for nomination.

The party maintains that any elected official who chooses to leave the NDC after winning an election must relinquish the office obtained through the party’s platform.

Providing the legal basis for the policy, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, argued that electoral victories are fundamentally tied to political parties.

OBI, during an interview on the Nevon HQ podcast hosted by broadcaster, Rufai Oseni, outlined how he would tackle poverty, unemployment and economic stagnation if given the opportunity to lead the country.

According to him, national transformation must begin with fostering unity and a sense of belonging among citizens.

“I will start the transformation by uniting this country, bringing it together to be a country everybody will be proud of.

“These things are not rocket science. Countries across the world have done this. What they did is simple. I will deliver good governance to people,” he said

He added that his administration would focus on social inclusion and poverty reduction through strategic investments in key sectors of the economy.

Obi argued that countries around the world have demonstrated that development is achievable when governments prioritise the right policies and sectors.

DURING a Contact and Sensitisation Retreat organised by the North-West Tinubu/Matawalle Peace and Unity Initiatives in Sokoto yesterday. Matawalle argued that such campaigns of calumny would not diminish the impact of the Tinubu administration’s policies and developmental initiatives across the country.

According to the minister, who was represented at the event by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Goga, criticisms of the Tinubu administration are largely driven by misinformation, propaganda, and deliberate attempts to undermine the President’s efforts to address Nigeria’s challenges.

“The achievements of President Tinubu in critical sectors of the economy, security, infrastructure, education and human capital development speak for themselves. Nigerians will judge his administration based on its performance and commitment to national development,” he said.