The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has declared that the party will not allow itself to be hijacked by former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, or any other opposition leader for personal vendettas against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking during the 50th birthday celebration of his wife, Queen Lillian Adebayo, on Monday night in Abuja, Adebayo stated that the SDP is not a platform for political conspiracies or personal revenge.
“Of course, my party knows that I’m running for the 2027 election. As for the coalition, we are listening to them. We don’t want to be a getaway car for a conspiracy and robbery we did not plan. That’s not available.
“If the coalition is for the Nigerian people, the SDP is available. But if it is just a crime centre for disappointed Tinubu followers, they should go back to him and resolve their differences there. Don’t come to SDP to borrow us for a fight we are not involved in,” he said.
His remarks come amid growing speculation surrounding El-Rufai’s departure from the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party he helped establish.
Adebayo also used the opportunity to call on President Tinubu to overhaul the country’s security strategy in light of the ongoing killings in Benue, Plateau, and other regions.
On the sidelines of the event, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, also weighed in, criticizing the emerging opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“I support coalitions and opposition. But not the kind that has people like El-Rufai. When the time comes, the moment they are offered what they want, they will go back to where they came from.
“The APC was a coalition. Did you forget? The people who are asking to form another coalition were former APC members. In fact, most of them were Buhari cabinet members who are supposed to be in prison forming a union of prisoners, not coalitions,” Sowore said.
Also speaking, Hon. Femi Olaniyi Ferrari, Chairman of the Forum of SDP State Chairmen and SDP Lagos Chairman, highlighted the SDP’s role in offering solutions to Nigeria’s pressing issues.
“We can all understand what Nigerians are going through. We asked for change, but the change has shortchanged us,” he said.
