Politics
Adebayo apprehensive, tells defectors to SDP to go through legitimate way
Barrister Adewole Adebayo, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 general election, apprehensive of massive defection to the party urged defectors to go through legitimate route and due process.
Speaking over the weekend in Abeokuta, Adebayo when he met with SDP members and executive members led by the State Chairman, Yinka Ola-Williams, said the party is open to defectors, but they must do so legitimately.
Flanked by the former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, the former presidential candidate allayed fears that defectors may hijack the party, stressing that the National Working Committee of SDP can only issue membership cards through the executive at the state levels.
He said, “People are counterfeiting naira, they are counterfeiting the dollar, they’re bringing counterfeit rice, and NAFDAC is chasing counterfeit drugs. Why are you surprised that there are counterfeit party cards? Especially if the party cards are carried by counterfeit politicians who have a history of doing counterfeiting in their former parties. So, we should forgive everybody, but this counterfeiting will not work in SDP.”
“We are not fighting anybody we are only saying ‘come to our house through the front door not through the ceiling or the window.’ That’s all. Everybody here joined the party legitimately, anybody coming will join legitimately”.
“We have spoken to the National Chairman and the NWC, he said there’s no counterfeiting of anything. Any card that’s not given through the state, LG and executives is not from the SDP. So, if they come, you will tell them to go away. Put your name in our register here and pay us here. We will get the card for you. That’s how it is”.
“They want to run faster than their legs. Secondly, you are hearing rumors that people are coming to our party, Awolowo is coming, Azikiwe is coming, Balewa, Ahmadu Bello is coming. Let’s see them. Nigerians know us and they know them.”
He ruled out any plan that SDP would merge or collaborate with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC or any political party ahead of 2027 general election.
According to him, SDP is committed to the well-being and welfare of Nigerians, while he ruled out insinuations that the party is an appendage of APC.
“Maybe APC has appendicitis; they should go to the hospital to kill it. We are a strong party. We are older than any of the parties available. Our mission is clear: we are not in government with them.
“I led the party in the last election. I’m still standing here. I’m not a minister under Tinubu; all the state chairman and the national chairman are intact, including the national secretary. So, we are standing on our own.
“The reason people look down on us is because we don’t attack people, but we tackle issues because our party is a party of intellect. We are the only party that’s a little to the left. Having been a little to the left since we came in 1989, we remain so.
“The problems of Nigeria can only be found with solutions on the left, which is that chapter two of the Constitution, invest money in education, in housing, in healthcare, good infrastructure, let Nigerians live what chief Obafemi Awolowo called a life more abundant,” he said.
