The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the November election in Anambra State, George Moghalu, has called for constitutional reforms to prevent sitting governors from retaining their offices after defecting to another political party.
Moghalu made the call while speaking with journalists, arguing that the mandate given at the polls belongs to the political party and the electorate, not to an individual office holder who later switches allegiance.
According to him, allowing governors to defect without consequence amounts to a betrayal of voters’ trust and undermines the integrity of the democratic process. He maintained that such defections distort the will of the people, who voted based on party platforms and ideologies.
The former LP candidate stressed that mandates should not be transferable from one party to another, adding that any governor who defects should automatically vacate the seat and seek a fresh mandate under the new party.
Moghalu noted that lawmakers at the national and state levels were already bound by provisions that restrict defection, and wondered why governors should be exempt from similar accountability.
He urged the National Assembly to urgently review the relevant sections of the Constitution to close what he described as a dangerous loophole capable of encouraging political opportunism and weakening Nigeria’s democracy.
