Abdulrasheed Abdulyakeen

&

Nurain Abayomi Mumuni

Abstract
The emergence of multiparty democracy in Nigeria since has been seen as a breakthrough in the
democratic process. However, politicians in Nigeria defect from one party to the other has not only
constituted a democratic nuisance but raises serious concerns among political observers and
participants in Nigeria. This study examines party defection in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. These
were with the view to investigating the effects of “cross-carpeting” on the country’s democratic
engagement. The study used secondary data using content analysis. Against this backdrop, the
study reveals that party defection was patterned towards ethnic/religious inclination, intra-party
feud and selfish interest of the political class. Coupled with these anti-democratic tendencies, the
study also found that indiscipline in political parties and the lack of ideology were the major factors
that determined cross-carpeting in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Finally, the study affirms that party
discipline and ideology must be strictly adhered to by political parties to check the menace of
incessant cross-carpeting among political officeholders.

Introduction
Today, it is almost inconceivable to have a functioning democracy without political parties.
Fittingly, the popular axiom that democracy without parties is “unthinkable” finds expression in
this context (Schnattschneider, 1942). Similarly, competition among political actors is only
meaningful when it is aimed towards party institutionalization which according to O’Brien and
Shomer (2013) is a function of…

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