The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has confirmed that its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, will not be required to sign the party’s newly introduced anti-defection oath.
Findings by Spear News Nigeria reveal that waiver came after Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso refused to sign the newly introduced anti-defection oath, prompting the party’s leadership to grant them exemption to avoid a crisis.
The anti-defection policy, unveiled on Tuesday at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, mandates governorship, National Assembly, and other candidates to sign indemnity and affidavit forms pledging to vacate their seats should they defect after winning elections.
The measure is expected to affect several high-profile politicians who recently joined the NDC, including former Adamawa State governorship candidate Aishatu Binani.
However, party officials confirmed that Obi and Kwankwaso are exempt from the directive.
The party’s Director of New Media and Strategic Communication, Theo Agada, stated on X that “the party trusts the commitment of our presidential and vice presidential nominees, and they are not bound by this policy”.
NDC National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, defended the legality of the measure during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, noting that political parties function as voluntary associations bound by internal rules.
He disclosed that the party leadership exercised administrative discretion to excuse its top two standard-bearers from the mandate.
“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,” Enekweizu stated.
Notably, many of the party’s key leaders, including Obi and Kwankwaso, were absent from the event where the policy was unveiled—a development that aligns with Spear News Nigeria’s findings that the candidates refused to sign.
The refusal is not the first time Obi and Kwankwaso have made demands regarding party conditions. In May 2026, before they eventually joined the NDC, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) revealed that talks with the two politicians collapsed after they demanded guaranteed presidential tickets without internal competition.
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