The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Oyo State has replaced its governorship candidate for the 2027 election, substituting Mr. Michael Okunlade with Mogaji Olusegun Agboola, as the party vowed to challenge the established political parties and win control of the state.

The substitution was ratified at the party’s substitution plenary held in Ibadan on Tuesday, where party leaders also charged Agboola with the task of uniting members, strengthening the party’s structures and taking its message to all the 33 local government areas of the state.

The development marked a fresh phase in the SDP’s preparations for the 2027 governorship election, with the party insisting that its ambition goes beyond merely participating in the poll to building the structures and support base required to secure victory.

Speaking with journalists after his emergence, Agboola said the SDP was not in the race to negotiate or bargain for political relevance but was determined to win the governorship election and introduce a new approach to governance in Oyo State.

He said the party would replace what he described as “pedestrian thinking” with system-based thinking, arguing that the state could no longer afford to rely on conventional approaches to governance in a rapidly changing world.

“The last time we declared our intent, we said pedestrian thinking has to stop and system-based thinking should now be the case. We should stop business as usual and bring new ideas to the table,” Agboola said.

The SDP candidate said his administration, if elected, would prioritise human development and establish systems capable of transforming the state’s human and material resources into sustainable economic opportunities.

He argued that Oyo State could no longer afford to remain primarily a resource centre for others, stressing the need for policies that would equip residents with relevant skills and enable them to contribute meaningfully to the state’s economic development.

Agboola said his vision was to build systems that would allow residents to translate their skills, abilities and available resources into sustainable economic opportunities rather than relying on conventional approaches to governance.

He also ruled out the possibility of the SDP’s governorship ticket being used as an instrument for political negotiation or bargaining ahead of the 2027 election.

“The SDP is here to stay and our intention is to take over this state, especially as we see the crop of candidates in all the other parties, whom we all know their antecedents.

“We are here to go to the State House in our own goodness. There’s no negotiation on the table as far as we are concerned,” he said.

Agboola also expressed his readiness to publicly engage other governorship contenders in a debate on their policy proposals, signalling the party’s willingness to subject its ideas and proposed solutions to public scrutiny.

On efforts to reconcile members who may have become aggrieved by developments within the party, he promised to operate an open-door administration and urged dissatisfied members to return.

“Anyone that is aggrieved out there, the door is open. Come back home. SDP is the home of true democrats, true progressives,” he said.

Earlier, Okunlade, whose name was substituted on the party’s governorship ticket, described Agboola’s emergence as an important milestone for the SDP and congratulated him on his emergence.

Okunlade lauded party members for their maturity and peaceful conduct during the substitution process, while appreciating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for monitoring the exercise.

He said the immediate challenge before the party was to make the SDP more visible and active across the state’s 33 local government areas and wards, urging Agboola to remain committed to the party and work towards securing victory in 2027.

“We want victory, not negotiation. We want commitment, not abandonment. We want unity, not division,” Okunlade said.

He warned against a recurrence of situations in which candidates obtain the platform of a political party to contest elections only to subsequently distance themselves from the party’s structures and membership.

Okunlade stressed that candidates must remain committed to the party and its structures, arguing that the party’s ability to secure victory in 2027 would depend largely on unity, commitment and effective grassroots mobilisation.

He also addressed allegations raised by another governorship aspirant, Chief Saheed Oladele, concerning the substitution process and his integrity.

Okunlade said he would resort to legal action if statements made against him crossed the threshold of defamation, while urging party members to respect the outcome of the democratic process.

He called on members and aspirants to channel their grievances through appropriate democratic and legal avenues rather than allowing disagreements to weaken the party ahead of the 2027 election.