Party Switching in the Senate under Nigeria's Fourth Republic

Party Cross-carpeting in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: Cases and Causes

“…Personal ambition and ethnic loyalty, as opposed to social and economic issues, tend to drive Africa's political parties (Rakner and Walle, 2009:115). The deprivation that opposition politics might engender often made it unwise for politicians to remain in opposition parties (Fashagba, 2014). This is perhaps so because the party in power often discriminated against the opposition.…”

“…By contrast, defection is reported very frequently in most African new democracies. The term 'cross-carpeting' has been used interchangeably with concepts like party defection, party switching, floor-crossing, party-hopping, canoe-jumping, decamping, party-jumping (Malthora, 2005;Mbah, 2011;Fashagba 2014). In his work, Chang (2009) used the term 'political defection' in place of cross-carpeting.…”

“…Conversely, Third World countries such as Nigeria face a major and persistence problem: incessant cross-carpeting among elected political actors which tend to impede democratic consolidation. Cross-carpeting, otherwise known as party defection, party switching, floor-crossing, party-hopping, canoe-jumping, decamping, party-jumping (Malthora, 2005;Mbah, 2011;Aleyomi, 2013;Fashagba 2014) is a situation where politicians cross from one political party to the other due to myriad of reasons such as personality clash, power tussles, crisis or division within a given party, disagreement on party's position on an issue, realization of one's personal political ambition, and divergent views on the operations of a political party's philosophy or ideology (Hoeane, 2008). However, carpet-crossing have become undying attribute of party politics in the present democratic dispensation and have become frequent toward and after election periods.…”

Principle of Loyal Opposition: The Case of Political Parties in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

“…Multi-party system in Nigeria have seen politics as a matter of "do-or-die affairs" as cases of intra and inter party conflict, cross carpeting and electoral violence etc. continues to impede party system institutionalization (Ake, 1973;Fashagba, 2014).…”

“…Loyal opposition therefore, is central to the running of political parties because opposition political parties reserves the right to contest election and hope for better luck next time (to take control of government power) when the winners policies are flawed, turn out to have been disastrous or unpopular in their implementation (Waldron, 2012). However, while this is true of most political parties across the globe, the lack of ideology in Nigerian parties leaves much to be desired as cross-carpeting and inter-party conflict seems rife (Agbaje and Adejumobi, 2006;Fashagba, 2014). Part of the criticism of lack of ideology of political parties in Nigeria is on the pursuit of selfish agenda by opposition parties to unseat the ruling party without clear cut idea of what to do in government.…”