• Defections won’t turn Nigeria to one-party state, say Sule
• ‘SDP won’t form alliance with questionable characters’
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s rejection of the Tanimu Turaki (SAN)-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing subsisting court judgments and unresolved legal processes, has been described as a sinister plot by INEC in cahoots with the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cripple constructive and independent opposition political parties to pave way for a smooth ride for the incumbent President in the 2027 presidential poll.
Even with the defection of key opposition politicians to the ruling APC, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule still believes that Nigeria will not become a one-party state, insisting that such fears are unfounded and historically inaccurate.
This was as the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 general elections, Adewole Adebayo, disclosed that any future coalition involving the party ahead of the 2027 polls would be strictly with individuals of proven integrity.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) stated, yesterday, that it was ridiculous that the same INEC, which monitored and observed the Ibadan, Oyo State National Convention attended by PDP governors, which produced the Turaki-led National Executive Committee (NEC) of PDP, was speaking from both sides of its mouth on the authentic leadership of the PDP.
The frontline pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group described the development as a well-arranged, dangerous plot by the presidency, INEC and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to cripple the PDP to stop it from producing a viable presidential candidate to challenge Tinubu in 2027.
The group also called for an investigation into the allegation made by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, that the FCT Minister was executing a plot to destroy the PDP, thereby giving Tinubu a soft landing in the next Presidential poll.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, accused INEC of allowing itself to be used by the presidency, APC and the FCT minister to demolish political opposition in the country.
HURIWA also cautioned President Bola Tinubu to stop forthwith what it termed an active agenda to cripple constructive and independent opposition political parties in the country.
SPEAKING with journalists at the weekend, Sule recalled that the PDP once controlled about 29 states while it held power at the centre, yet Nigeria did not descend into a one-party system.
Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta State), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Peter Mbah (Enugu), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) and Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau) defected to the APC recently. Taraba State Governor, Kefas Agbu, is also expected to formally defect in January.
APC also welcomed many defectors in the National Assembly, a development that strengthened the party’s ranks and gave it more than a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
But Sule said: “We are not drifting into a one-party state. Today, we have about 28 governors in one party. Around 2013 and 2014, the PDP had about 29 governors, and Nigeria did not become a one-party state.”
He stressed that a one-party system is incompatible with democratic ideals and argued that no political party, including the APC, had an interest in undermining Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
The governor assured the people of Nasarawa of his continued commitment to good governance, noting that public service remains his priority beyond his current role.
MEANWHILE, while explicitly ruling out a potential coalition with those he termed as questionable characters and “unemployed politicians,” Adebayo warned that such a move portends danger not only for the party but also for Nigerians.
The SDP chieftain stated this in his country home in Ondo City, headquarters of the Ondo West Local Council of Ondo State, over the weekend amid ongoing discussions among opposition figures and parties seeking a unified front ahead of 2027.
Adebayo said his dissatisfaction with the administration of Tinubu does not translate into an automatic alliance with any alternative without proper scrutiny of persons plotting to smuggle themselves into power through coalition.
Revealing that he outlined a rigorous vetting process, Adebayo disclosed that he personally interviewed and screened potential coalition partners and later turned away many aspirants who were deemed unfit to fly the party’s flag and rule the country.
The SDP leader, who signalled interest in contesting the 2027 election, stressed credibility and motive as paramount in the mix, adding: “We are talking with the coalition, and we are trying to find a common purpose.
This common purpose must have meaning in the life of ordinary Nigerians.
“The fact that I don’t like Tinubu does not make me accept those things that I don’t like him for from others.
What we are trying to do is ensure that people don’t capitalise on the obviously bad performance of the government. That’s why, for each of them that came, I interviewed them. Some of them I don’t even bother to interview. And you all know them; they are people who came to our party, and we didn’t allow them to come in, and they have now regrouped at another party to do their own thing.”
