Our Reporter, New York
Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 general elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has warned politicians defecting to the SDP from the ruling APC and other political parties that the party would not accord any special treatment to them irrespective of their political status or wealth.
The legal practitioner made the remarks during an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90MinutesAfrica on Sunday.
“So many ‘big men’ that had joined the party have been complaining about how difficult our party officials are. It’s not because we want to be difficult or rude, but it is our way to make them realize that we give no preference to anyone just because they have money,” the party chieftain explained.
Mr. Adebayo revealed that even as the party’s presidential candidate, he receives no special recognition during meetings because everyone is treated equally.
“As the party’s former presidential candidate, I don’t sit on the high table during our ward meetings because I am not a ward executive, even though the meeting takes place on my property, which serves as the ward headquarters,” he said.
He further narrated how the party turned down an offer by a notable political figure to donate property for use as a state secretariat. He said the donor was made to understand that the party does not accept such gifts and that they rely on members’ contributions to pay the rent, and if he wants to contribute, he should do so the next time the rent is due.
There has been a recent flurry of notable defections to the SDP from the ruling party led by the former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and his associates. These defections have swelled the ranks of the SDP, making many believe that the party is being positioned as the cornerstone of the proposed mega coalition to challenge the ruling party in the 2027 elections. However, the SDP party leader expressed pessimism that many politicians currently defecting to the party will remain. He said many of them defected because of personal disagreements in their former parties, and when these disagreements are resolved, they will probably return. Prince Adebayo further noted that the only way to fundamentally change the politics in Nigeria is for the people to join forces with the party to end bad governance. “Our party is not going to be sustainably built by waiting for politicians to quarrel among themselves and come to join us,” Prince Adebayo noted.
“What is going to change our politics fundamentally is for the nearly seventy million Nigerians who stayed away in the last election to come out this time and say enough is enough.”
Speaking on the planned defection of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to the SDP, Mr. Adebayo said the former Anambra State governor will be a positive addition to the party, but he won’t be surprised if the move does not materialize because Peter Obi had made two previous attempts to join the party which fell through because of what he referred to as “minor disagreements.”
He, however, hopes that Mr. Obi will decide to be part of SDP this time because his presence will attract a large number of members who otherwise do not like the party.
“Governor Peter Obi will be a good addition to the SDP. He has some good qualities that will be useful. And there are a lot of people who like him but don’t like us, so they will start liking us when they see him with us,” the Ondo State politician noted.
“But I won’t be too surprised if he doesn’t come because this is the third time he’s trying to come to the party. In 2022, he came to us, but we had some minor disagreements, so he couldn’t stay and went to the Labour Party. He is not somebody who is not familiar with us.”
