INTRA PARTY CRISIS AND THE MENACE OF CROSS CARPETING IN NIGERIA

1.0 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Intra, party crises in Nigeria are the issues deeply rooted in the conflicts, differences, and competition of power within the political parties that eventually lead the parties to become unstable and the democratic process to weaken. Such crises, as a rule, emerge out of lack of internal democracy in the parties, unfairness of party primaries, candidates' being imposed by party leaders, fights for leadership, and rivalry for the control of the party structures (Megbele, Kore, Okiti & Mrabure 2025). In a number of Nigerian parties, the decision, making is in the hands of a few powerful elites who are able to manipulate internal procedures for their personal or factional gains while at the same time ordinary members and aspirants are completely ignored and not informed. The exclusion thus created gets to be anger and disintegration, and more often than not, it leads to the formation of factions within parties or the defection of the aggrieved members to other political platforms (Onyekwere & Ololo, 2025).

Intra, party crises in Nigeria have, in effect, been the main cause of the collapse of the country's political party system, which is the root of the party structure in the political parties of the parties. They weaken the party union, confuse the democratic choice and, in most cases, lead to the quitting of the parties, the electoral losses, and the legislative turmoil. Thus, the issue of internal democracy, observance of party constitutions, and the strengthening of the conflict, management mechanisms through which the parties will get discharged of the crisis and show unity and accountability are of primary importance in dealing with these problems.

Defection to another party in Nigerian politics implies the action whereby an elected public official or political figure joins another political party, most often before their tenure expires. This act, which is interchangeably called defection or decamping, has been a continuously happening feature of Nigeria’s political landscape since the democratic ruling was restored in 1999. Though party switching is common in other countries, the rate and political consequences of such practices in Nigeria have stirred a heated debate around the stability and credibility of the country's democratic institutions. Ideally, one may argue that defecting from one party to another is a political right, however, reality shows that such cases have only been fueled by the unreserved personal ambitions, opportunism and the desire for political survival rather than actual ideological discrepancies.

One of the major reasons behind switching loyalties in the political arena is cross carpeting and the influences of this act are intensively felt in the very base of the structure of the political system of Nigeria, which is mainly personality, driven parties than those of ideologies. People politicizing as they are supposed to be loyal to a certain political party tend to show the fluid nature of their loyalty to politics and many politicians consider parties only as vehicles which will take them to the place where they will be able to wield power, not as the ones that are based on principles and programs. Consequently, the change of party usually double as it becomes much more frequent in the periods leading up to the elections or in the wake of the change of government because politicians want to be at the side of the party that is going to win so as not to lose the access to state resources and to political influence. This cycle fuels the prevalence of political opportunism and contributes to the destabilization of the development of the stable party systems (Megbele, Kore, Okiti & Mrabure 2025).

The act of cross, carpeting in Nigeria is a testament to the inadequacy of political parties, lack of strong ideological roots, and the dominance of patronage politics in the political landscape. Rather than being what it should have been, a tool for political restructuring through policy differences, it has become an indication of the fluid, self, centered and transactional nature of Nigerian politics. The issue of cross, carpeting will keep on agitating the democratic process in Nigeria, thus the system will be deprived of stability, integrity, and a mature democratic process, if party systems will not be institutionalized, internal democracy will not be strengthened and constitutional provisions concerning defection will not be strictly observed.

The birth of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria in 1999 brought about a return to the multi, party democratic system. However, it has been a challenge to the subjugation of the stable party politics. Party politics confusion, among others, occupies a prominent place among the problems that have been raised by this phenomenon. The 9th Assembly (2019, 2023) has been selected as the study focus; this period has been a turning point in the understanding of intra, party fissures and legislative defections which pose questions about party discipline, democratic consolidation and legislative efficacy in Nigeria.

Intra, party crisis in Nigeria is the definition of political parties' conflicts that shows in struggles for leadership, factionalism, contested primaries, unchartered areas in succession, and lack of effective internal democracy. Authors argue that political parties, as the major agents of democracy, have to fulfill the roles of aggregating the interests, recruiting the support, training the political elites and linking the citizens to governance; thus, when their internal structures are weak, they become centers of instability instead of institutional consolidation (Onyekwere & Ololo, 2025). The Party monolith of the early Fourth Republic has broken down into the pattern of changing loyalties, re, aligned coalitions, and weakened opposition capacities. It is worth noting that one of the ways through which intra, party conflicts lead to cross, carpeting is that parties' characters involved in the conflicts decide to leave the party and join another.

Cross, carpeting which is the movement of elected legislators from the party under which they were elected to another party without the consent of their term has become a Nigeria’s legislative politics recurring feature. Cross, carpeting has been described by one of the Nigeria’s legislative politics studies as "a recurring feature of the country's democratic experience." Such behavior confuses ideological coherence, destabilizes legislative coalitions, and questions the institutional strength of the Nigerian multi, party system (Namadi & Yerima, 2025). Defectors are said also to signify the phenomenon of lack of party identity, absence of ideological orientation, and that the personal ambition and opportunism rather than the collective mandate dominated most of the times (Ibeogu et al., 2021; Awofeso & Irabor, 2016).

The legal provisions on defection are primarily the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended). According to Section 68(1)(g), when a member of the Senate or House of Representatives is elected on the platform of a political party but then defects to another political party, he or she shall lose the seat. A member of the Senate or House of Representatives who, after being elected on the platform of a given political party, joins another political party shall be deemed to have vacated his or her seat except in the case of a defections resulting from a factional split in the original party or merger of parties, as per section 68(1)(g). Section 109 similarly talks about the State Houses of Assembly (The Nation, 2023). Commentators, however, argue that there has been poor compliance with these provisions thus the culture of defections whereby legislators remain in their seats despite changing their political loyalty has been prevalent in the local government areas (The Cable, 2025). The defectiveness of the implementation lies not only in the legal provisions but also in the party's internal enforcement and the judiciary's follow, through, hence there is a huge gap between formal rules and actual practice (Megbele et al., 2025).

By focusing only on the Ninth National Assembly, one can see that the time was full of several significant events. PDP after the inauguration of the Ninth Assembly, the PDP as the opposition, lamented that the Ninth Assembly was a “conquered parliament” because of breakdowns in internal cadastral party voting and structural defections (Ogidan, 2019). Besides, the defection politics in the National Assembly showed that minor parties had almost vanished since their members had defected to the bigger ruling party which consequently depleted the multiparty character of the legislature (The Nation, 2022). The trend here is that intra, party crises have not only caused defections but also have weakened the formal logic of party competition in the legislature.

Internal crises in the political parties of Nigeria have intertwined the behaviour and structure aspects. On the structural level, several Nigerian parties have problems such as lack of clear ideological orientation, inefficient cadre development, transparent primaries, and enforceable sanctions for indiscipline. The literature emphasises that when party organs are weak, aspirants view the platform as less impactful than an individual’s capacity to win, thus they rely on personal networks, money, and patronage instead of the party brand (Oluro & Bamigbose, 2021). On the behavioural side, the prevailing culture of “winner, takes, all”, the monetisation of politics, and the belief that power automatically goes to the ruling party are the factors that lead to a logic of opportunistic defection (People’s Voice, 2025). Many lawmakers think that it is less important to stay in the party under which they were elected than to gain advantage whether it be through committee appointments, budgetary allocations, or leadership positions.

From the local parlance perspective, the occurrence and consequences of legislatures’ intra, party quarrel and cross, carpeting are complex and manifold. To begin with, constant shifts break down the numerical stability of party caucuses in both the Senate and the House of Representatives branches, thus making it difficult to choose party leaders and assign committee positions. Legislative cross, carpeting has, for example, been considered as the main factor causing the change of a legislature from a deliberative body to a rubber, stamp annex of the executive or dominant party (Oluro & Bamigbose, 2021). Secondly, the disappearance of ideological differences between political parties leads to the loss of the major principle of accountable representation. When politicians switch their political party affiliation in the middle of their term without first seeking electoral endorsement, they undermine the principle of representation, i.e., the representatives who were elected should be loyal to the voters (Independent Newspaper Nigeria, 2025). Thirdly, the widespread practice of defection causes public distrust and hence decreases citizens’ trust in political parties and the legislature as institutions which govern and represent them.

The situation of the Ninth National Assembly is quite significant as it followed the 2019 general elections which were the moment when the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had a majority but not a landslide one. Besides, the timeframe also entailed the complex debates about the constitutional amendment, the internal party reshuffles, and the leadership tussles with the high stakes. In this respect, intra, party crisis and cross, carpeting are of practical importance for democratic practice in Nigeria. Furthermore, the experience of the Ninth Assembly is an example of the wider lead of party politics in Nigeria: from the 1999 prospect of institutionalised party competition to the more fluid and transactional politics of the 2020s.

Given this, dissecting intra, party crisis and cross, carpeting in the Ninth National Assembly moves beyond just description into the realm of normative and institutional importance. It asks questions of how internal party dysfunction leads to legislative instability, how defections impact democratic representation, and how the legal, institutional framework either lessens or intensifies the phenomenon. The problem is not only pertinent to Nigeria: numerous other emerging democracies also experience the same problems of weak party systems, unpredictable legislative loyalties, and unstable parliamentary coalitions.

Moreover, the practical significance of the research is supported by the fact that, according to the constitution, political parties are the ones who have the responsibility of presenting candidates, mobilising voters, and being platforms for government accountability. The entire democratic representation architecture thus remains undermined when parties are internally divided and defections become the un, noted routine. Hence, dealing with the issues of intra, party crisis and cross, carpeting is not only instrumental in fortifying the party system but also in elevating the legislature's function and consolidating democratic governance in Nigeria. it is to this the study centers on intra party crisis and the menace of cross carpeting in Nigeria: a case of 9th national assembly

1.2 Statement of the Problem

One of the most common occurrences in the Nigerian political parties is the internal strife among the various factions within a party. This has been the mainstay of the evolution of Nigeria's democracy. As per Egoh & Anichie (2013) statement, internal party democracy has been a thorny issue that has always eluded Nigerian democracy because political parties are usually taken over by the most powerful individuals at all levels who then dictate candidates by sending their loyalists to elections. The widespread crises in intra and inter, political parties as a result of carpet crossing in the democratic system of the country can mainly be traced back to the mindset and perception of politics as the most profitable sector in the country. This belief is further strengthened by the increasing practice of impunity and total neglect of the rule of law, which are the main features of the Nigerian political elites. Unfortunately, political parties have turned into the most effective instruments for the political elites to take over the power of the people through the election which is usually followed by fraud and other forms of electoral malpractices.

Despite the presence of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which aims to discourage cross, carpeting, political actors still find ways to exploit the loopholes there and hence justify their action. Intra, party conflicts which are frequently caused by factionalism and the absence of transparency in the party primaries are the major reasons for defections. Numerous cases of lawmakers' defection have been recorded by the 9th National Assembly, thereby raising concerns over the erosion of party discipline and the use of political mandates as commodities (Nweke, Love et al., 2025). This research wants to investigate the relationship between the intra, party conflicts and cross, carpeting with the 9th National Assembly as a case study. It intends to find out the causes, the patterns, and the consequences of these phenomena for Nigeria's democratic trajectory. it is to this the study centers on intra party crisis and the menace of cross carpeting in Nigeria: a case of 9th national assembly

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study is to examine Intra Party Crisis and the Menace of Cross Carpeting in Nigeria: A Case Of 9th National Assembly. Other specific objectives include:

I)To ascertain the impact of Party Crisis on Cross Carpeting in the Ninth assembly

ii) To evaluate  the nature and causes of intra-party crises in Fourth republic in Nigeria .

iii) To examine the impact of party defections on democratic consolidation in Nigeria

iv) To recommend ways of tackling  Intra Party Crisis and the Menace of Cross Carpeting in Nigeria

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

I)What is the impact of Party Crisis on Cross Carpeting in the Ninth assembly?

ii) what is  the nature and causes of intra-party crises in Fourth republic in Nigeria ?

iii) what is the impact of party defections on democratic consolidation in Nigeria?

iv) what are the ways of tackling  Intra Party Crisis and the Menace of Cross Carpeting in Nigeria?

1.5 HYPOTHESIS

H0: there is no  impact of Party Crisis on Cross Carpeting in the Ninth assembly

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Studying the menace of a party in Nigeria by analyzing the rise of the 9th National Assembly carries the major benefit of expanding knowledge about the fragility of the political institutions and the weaknesses of the Nigerian democratic system which is the basis of the research. The relevance of the present research is seen through the lens of the issues that dominate the internal conflicts in the political parties and the most common defection practice among the elected representatives, which eventually undermines democratic consolidation, good governance, and political accountability. Investigating the factors leading to the outbreak of intra, party crises and the defection of members in the 9th National Assembly, the research becomes a resource pool to the debates on party politics, institutional reform, and the quality of democratic representation in Nigeria.

The study's importance is also linked to its capability of shedding light on the degree of contribution made by the various factors such as the lack of democracy within the party, leadership conflicts, and a shortage of ideological unity to the rise of the state of legislative instability and policy inconsistency. The 9th National Assembly is a decisive moment for the research as it witnessed a series of defections and increased disputes in the parties that impacted the legislative alignments and decision, making processes. Familiarizing oneself with such patterns is instrumental in correcting the role of personal ambitions and elite rivalries in replacing institutional loyalty and thus diminishing the legislature's capacity to carry out the functions of oversight and lawmaking efficiently. Hence, the research offers profound knowledge about the multiparty system's operational issues in Nigeria as well as the roots of its continuous political instability.

Moreover, the study's contribution to policy formulation and institutional strengthening cannot be underplayed. By identifying the causes and consequences of inter, party crises and the act of cross, carpeting, it provides a platform upon which strategies are honed to enable the promotion of internal party democracy, the enforcement of party discipline, and the assurance that constitutional provisions on defections are respected. This carries direct implications for the political and legal reforms that govern political conduct in Nigeria. The findings are a source of guidance for policymakers, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and civil society organizations in undertaking interventions that bring about party accountability and the reduction of the opportunistic tendencies which have been the hallmark of Nigeria's political culture.

At the theoretical level, this investigation supplements the current body of knowledge concerning political behavior and the institutionalization of the party system in the democracies that are still developing. The study adds to the theoretical understanding of how elite competition, weak institutions, and the absence of ideological grounding contribute to political instability and is a stimulant to further investigation. Its findings may be useful to scholars as they analyze inter, legislative behavior, party politics, and the process of democratic consolidation in Africa and other developing contexts. Moreover, it supplies the needed research data that can now be utilized to measure how well Nigerian constitutional and legal frameworks have been in the past in restraining anti, democratic actions such as cross, carpeting, thereby paving the way for more research into the possible reforms.

Additionally, the research has pronounced societal effects as it focuses on the loss of public trust in political institutions due to intra, party crisis and cross, carpeting. If one recalls politicians' attept to frequently switching parties or internal wrangling for personal gain, it will be easier to understand how citizens become doubtful of the electoral process and in the capacity of parties to represent their interests. The loss of trust in democratic processes such as voting could lead to voter apathy, political cynicism, and the weakening of democratic participation. The study underlines that addressing these issues would help in restoring the much, needed integrity, consistency, and accountability in Nigeria's political system necessary for public faith in democracy to be strengthened.

Moreover, the importance of the study can be related to governance and national development as well. The absence of political stability which is a requirement for economic growth is such that the internal party and legislature struggles bring about irregularities in government programs and policy continuities thereby making it difficult for good management of the state. This study of how the 9th National Assembly experienced affairs serves to offer insightful advice and guidance on how democratic institutions in Nigeria can be made to work efficiently and what the political parties can do to mature into stable, ideologically, driven entities that are able to foster good governance and long, term developmental goals in Nigeria making the research valuable academically and as a tool for achieving these goals.

1.7   SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The Study Is Restricted to intra party crisis and the menace of cross carpeting in Nigeria: a case of 9th national assembly

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

  The following terms are define operationally as it was used in the study

INTRA PARTY CRISIS : An intra-party crisis is a conflict or instability within a political party, often stemming from incompatible political goals, personality clashes, or struggles over resources and leadership positions. Common causes include candidate selection for elections, financial mismanagement, lack of internal democracy, and the influence of "godfatherism". These conflicts can weaken the party, cause factionalization, and negatively impact its electoral performance. 

CROSS CARPETING IN NIGERIA : Cross-carpeting in Nigeria is the practice of politicians switching political parties, often for personal gain and with little ideological conviction. This phenomenon is a regular feature of the country's democracy, leading to a lack of ideological consistency and concerns about self-interest, weakened opposition, and a decline in public trust. The term is used interchangeably with other phrases like party defection, party hopping, and decamping. 

9TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY : The 9th National Assembly of Nigeria was a bicameral legislature that served from June 11, 2019, to June 11, 2023. It was led by Senate President Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan and Speaker of the House Femi Gbajabiamila. Key activities included returning the budget cycle to a January-December timeline and passing measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.