DEFECTIONS BY LAW MAKERS IN NIGERIA: IS LEGISLATING AGAINST IT THE PANACEA?

Abstract

The practice of party defections where law makers switch political allegiance during their 
tenures have become prevalent in Nigeria raising concerns about the erosion of democratic 
mandates and voter trust. While party defections are neither peculiar to nor new in Nigeria’s 
political landscape, the resulting constitutional and governance crisis it breeds underscores 
the urgent need for a tweaking of both the law and the political culture to ensure political 
stability and safeguarding of its nascent democracy. Employing a doctrinal research 
methodology, it examines the legal framework governing party defections in Nigeria, with a 
focus on the constitutional provisions and judicial interpretations of them with a view to 
exposing their effectiveness or otherwise in curbing the practice and interrogating whether 
anti- defection legislations alone is the panacea to this ugly trend. It concludes by 
recommending reforms to enhance democratic accountability, protect the integrity of 
elections, and rebuild public trust in the legislature.