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

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.