SDP will defeat Tinubu in 2027; we’ve learnt from PDP, APC’s mistakes

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the party’s presidential candidate in 2023, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has declared that his party would defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, having learnt from the mistakes of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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, which he said had become the signature tune of the PDP and the APC, was 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 lacks the capacity to give Nigerians direction, emphasising that the government is populated by individuals who are 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 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 of 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 years roll by. It is like that. If you are consistent and you build your house and you are not distracted, and you 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 Peoples 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.

“So, what we are trying to do here is to make sure that whatever is chasing people from wherever they are coming from does not come into our party. Your grievances, your problems, and the historical issues that brought you to the SDP end at the door when you join. Follow SDP as an ordinary member. Go from your ward. If you have other ambitions or other plans, they are welcome,” he said.

On the 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 honourable 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 motives. We cannot suspect them. We should believe that they are coming to contribute, just like when I joined the party.”