PARTY SWITCHING IN NIGERIA : (A CASE STUDY OF PDP AND APC)

Abstract

Party switching or defection has assumed a preposterous dimension since Nigeria return ed to democratic governance in 1999. Defection has indeed become a routine and part and parcel of political flesh in Nigeria . The spate o f party defection has not only threatened the country’s fledgling democracy, but has also rubbished its underlying philosophies. It has further resulted into gross and acute democratic instability in which the country is currently enmeshed. In short, party switching in Nigeria constitutes one of the strong currents of reversal that the country is contending with. The nation’s newspapers are always inundated with reports on party switcher s and how they are celebrated at the state Houses of Assembly and the National Assemblies. Party switching aptly described as “political prostitution” is fast becoming the hallmark of Nigeria’s democracy.