Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a chieftain of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the party’s presidential candidate in 2023, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has declared that his party, the SDP has learnt from the mistakes of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He expressed confidence in the SDP defeating the APC’s President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
He noted that the practice of bribing delegates and buying votes during party primaries and employing all sorts of unconstitutional and arm-twisting tactics to foist unpopular candidates on the people that has become the signature tune of the PDP and the APC is clearly absent from the SDP.
“What we don’t do in our party is that we don’t bribe delegates, and we don’t breach the rules. If you win, we support you. If you lose, we support another person. That’s our style.
“We have learnt from the mistakes of the PDP and the APC, and we are not going to allow our party to become a basket case,” he said.
He lamented that Tinubu’s government could not give Nigerians direction, emphasising that the government was made up of people who were only interested in sharing the wealth of the nation, while the masses die of hunger and penury.
He said he was sure that they did not have any programmes for Nigerians and would soon lose popularity, so he continued to work for victory in the 2027 election — a development that has culminated in his assurance that his party would roundly defeat Tinubu and his APC in 2027.
“We knew that when they started sharing the spoils office, they would all scatter. We knew that the programmes that all of them had would not work for the people, and they would lose popularity. So we started preparing and managing our party. We have no crisis.
“When they were offering positions, we didn’t want to join them. We remained where we were. We kept talking to the people. Many more will join us as the year rolls by. It is like that. If you are consistent, build your house, are not distracted, and focus on what you are doing, those who say they are experts will come back to you to work with you when their own has failed. Tinubu is going to be removed from power; that one is sure,” he said.
Adebayo stressed that the SDP is a well organised political party that plays by the rules unlike the ruling APC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), adding that the mistakes that caused the PDP’s downfall and which are surely going to bring down the APC in 2027 have been noted and taken care of by the SDP.
“We are a free and very well-organised party. We have institutions that work. We have learnt from the lessons of APC and PDP that if institutions don’t work and if you follow personalities up and down, you will fail.
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“So, what we are trying to do here is to make sure that whatever is chasing people from wherever they are coming does not come into our party. Your grievances, your problems, and your historical issues that brought you to the SDP end at the door when you join. Follow SDP as an ordinary member. Go from your word. If you have other ambitions, other plans, they are welcome,” he said.
On former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who recently defected from the ruling APC to the SDP, he said: “He is a great talent, I respect him and he is even more honorable in our interaction. He has told us what he wants to do, but it’s not our job to tell anyone. But what is clear is that we want them. The party’s process will be fair. What we don’t do in our party is that we don’t bribe delegates, and we don’t breach the rules. If you win, we support you. If you lose, we support another person. That’s our style.
“We have learnt from the mistakes of the PDP and the APC, and we are not going to allow our party to become a basket case. But everybody who says he loves Nigeria is welcome. We cannot be reading their motive. We cannot suspect them. We should believe that they are coming to contribute, just like when I joined the party.”
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