Constitutional Safeguard for Preservation of Democratic Political Culture and the Legitimacy of Political Porting in Nigeria
Abstract
Political parties are the mainstay of democratic governance, critical to policy formulation and to sustain of political structure in modern states. They are driven by entrenched ideologies besides their focus on attaining economic and political powers. Political porting one of the trending epithets for cross-carpeting, has become too frequent a phenomenon as to be capable of torpedoing Nigeria’s nascent democracy. The resurgence of this ugly tend and the near-anarchy situation in Rivers State of Nigeria has reignited the arguments around the legitimacy of this political culture. This article examines the constitutional enactments and judicial authorities as they impact on the choice of an elected political office holder to defect to another political party while still holding office. It also situates Nigeria’s democracy within international norm which should interest the universal institutions to support. Adopting the doctrinal research method, the article reveals the inadequacy of the anti-defection provisions of the laws in Nigeria as well as the weakness of the judiciary to rise to the occasion. The article recommends law reforms as well as a clear-cut ideology for political parties to guarantee the survival of democracy in Nigeria.
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References
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Journal Article
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Agboga, Victor. “Testing Political Loyalties in Nigeria: What Factors Influence Support for Party Switchers?” The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 113, no. 2 (2024): 117-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2024.2333199
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Akpunonu, Chris. “Incessant Cross-Carpeting in Nigerian Politics Under the Fourth Republic and its Implications on the Development of the Naccessant Democracy.” Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu University Law Journal 6, no. 1 (2021): 127-147. https://www.nigerianjournalsonline.com/index.php/COOULJ/article/view/2415
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Arum, Ifenyinwa and Banatola A. Marcus. “President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration & Change Mantra in Nigeria.” African Journal of Politics and Administrative Studies 16, no. 2 (2023): 494-519. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajpas.v16i2.26
Attah, Dahiru H. “Foreign Policy Decisions and National Interest: Reflection on the Experiment of the Greentree Agreement.” Jalingo Economic and Business Review 3, no. 3 (2019): 148.
Awofeso, Olu and Paul A Irabor. “The Game Theory and the Politics of Cross-Carpeting in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.” Public Policy and Administration Research 7, no. 7 (2017): 66-72. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326534231
Azu, Victoria N. and Uchechukwu Onyeukwu. “Political Culture and Public Participation in Governance in Nigeria.” European Modern Studies Journal 6, no. 1 (2022): 308-321.
Bencherif, Adib. “Political Nomadism and the Jihadist ‘Safe Haven’ in Northern Mali: An Entry Point Through Tuareg Relational Political Dynamic.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 61, no. 4 (2023): 473-494. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X2300040X
Desierto, Diane A. “Review of Tom Ginsburg’s Democracies and International Law.” European Journal of International Law 34, (2023): 721-727. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chad040
Edet, Lawrence. “Politics of Defection and Its Implications on Nigeria’s Democracy.” International Journal of Human-Social Science 3, no. 5 (2017): 375-385. https://globaljournals.org/pdf
Ginsburg, Tom. “Democracies and International Law: An Update.” Chicago Journal of International Law 23, no. 1 (2022): 33-56. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil/vol23/iss1/1
Gordon, Michelle. “The Integrity of Courts: Political Culture and a Culture of Politics.” Melbourne University Law Review 44, no. 3 (2021): 863-882.
Grossman, Joel B. and Austin Sarat. “Political Culture and Judicial Research.” Washington University Law Review (1971): 177-187. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol1971/iss2/2
Junji, Annen and Lee H Rousso. “Constitutionalism as a Political Culture.” Washington International Law Journal 11, no. 3 (2002): 651-576. https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol11/iss3/4
Manirakiza, Pacifique. “Towards A Right to Resist Gross Undemocratic Practices in Africa.” Journal of African Law 63, no. 1 (2019): 81-105. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021855319000020
Mba, Ahamefula Uka and Charity Ahamefula Mba. “Nigeria: A Nation in Search of Sustainable Political Culture Built on Sound Ideology.” International Journal of Socio-Cultural Research 1, no. 2 (2023): 1-12. https://www.openjournals.ijaar.org/index.php/ijscr/article/view/277
Mbah, Peter. “Party Defection and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria, 1999 – 2009.” Afro-Asian Journal of Social Sciences 2, no. 2 (2011): 1-21.
Noah, Izoukumor A. “Analysing the Application of the Lex Specialis derogate legi generali Principle in Peter Obi v INEC (2023): A focus on Issue Two; Electronic Result Transmission.” African Journal of Law and Justice System 3, no. 1 (2024): 85-97. https://doi.org/10.31920/2753-3123/2024/v3n1a5
Nuhu, Khalid Idris. “The Legal Implication of Political Defection on Nigeria’s Democracy.” Sriwijaya Law Review 5, no. 2 (2021): 247-261. https://doi.org/10.28946/slrev.Vol5.Iss2.1060.pp247-261
Nyhamar, Tore. “How Do Norms Work? A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of African International Relations.” The International Journal of Peace Studies 5, no. 2 (2000): 27-43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41852876
Okeke, Remi Chukwudi. “Political Culture, Democracy and Development in Nigeria.” Specialty Journal of Politics and Law 2, no. 4 (2017): 1-9. https://sciarena.com/article/political-culture-democracy-and-development-in-nigeria
Okolie, Ugo Chuks. “Cross Carpeting and The Challenges to Democratic Culture and Political Stability in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.” The Indonesian Journal of International Clinical Legal Education 3, no. 3 (2021): 301-320. https://doi.org/10.15294/ijicle.v3i3.48270
Oluro, Mayowa J. and Johnson O. Bamigbose. “Legislative Cross-Carpeting, Multi-Party System and the Challenges of Democratic Governance, Good Governance in Nigeria.” Journal of Public Administration and Governance 11, no. 1 (2021): 25-46. https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v11i1.18151.
Opadare, Olaolu S. and Julius O Agbana. “Cross-Carpeting in Nigerian Politics: Some Legal and Moral Issues Generated.” Frontiers of Legal Research 3, no. 2 (2015): 22-39. https://doi.org/10.3968/7011
Ozuo, Izunna Isidore. “Defection from One Political Party to Another, under the Nigerian Constitution: When the Band Begins to Play.” Journal of Current Issues in Nigeria Law 1, no. 1 (2015): 1-22. https://www.journals.ezenwaohaetorc.org/index.php/JOCINL/article/view/2071
Radkowitsch, Claudius Grabner and Birte Strunk. “Degrowth and the Global South: The Twin Problem of Global Dependencies.” Ecological Economics 213, (2023): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107946.
Rosert, Elvira. “Effects of International Norms: A Typology.” Journal of International Political Theory 20, no. 1 (2023): 22-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/17550882231184275
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Published
2025-01-30
How to Cite
GODSPOWER EHIRIM, Ugochukwu et al.
Constitutional Safeguard for Preservation of Democratic Political Culture and the Legitimacy of Political Porting in Nigeria.
Udayana Journal of Law and Culture, [S.l.], v. 9, n. 1, p. 1-23, jan. 2025.
ISSN 2549-0680.
Available at: <https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ujlc/article/view/118913>. Date accessed: 22 feb. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.24843/UJLC.2025.v09.i01.p01.
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