PARTY CROSS CARPETTING AMONG NIGERIAN POLITICIANS AND THE DIGNITY OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN GLOBAL PRACTICES

Abstract

Nigerian democracy has witnessed series of indiscriminate political defections, with politicians crisscrossing from one political party to another. Cross-carpeting is an act of swapping political parties. It is an act of changing party allegiance or moving from one party to another. Cross-carpeting is known by nomenclature such as party hopping, party switching, party crossover, party defection, party decamping, floor crossing, canoe-jumping, political party prostitution, and political nomadism. The spate of carpeting at all the levels of government in Nigeria is beginning to cause serious political tension and hostility, and is a source of worry for Nigerians. Party crosscarpeting among politicians in Nigeria has become a pervasive trend, undermining the dignity of the country’s party system in global practice. This discourse ascertained that nothing is wrong with cross-carpeting if predicated upon well-articulated principles
and unimpeachable political ideology. Following the descriptive and hermeneutic methodologies of inquiry, this paper seeks to reevaluate the bane within the practice where politicians switch allegiance from one party to another, often for personal gain or political expediency, which has significant implications for democratic governance and the legitimacy of the political process. Cross carpeting within certain precincts is a fundamental and constitutional right. Nevertheless, with the current trend of crosscarpeting in the Nigerian political landscape, principles, scruples, ideology, and the like have all been jettisoned for greed, self-interest, and opportunism. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to examine the dignity of Nigeria's party system in global practice. This paper is considered necessary because when morality is lost, in a society like Nigeria, the fabric of the law and its enforceability are grossly weakened.