2027: Why SDP won’t join coalition, mergers — Aiyenigba

…We’ll tract beardown statesmanlike candidate

By Henry Umoru, Assistant Politics Editor

Mr Araba Rufus Aiyenigba is the nationalist publicity caput of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, the 2nd oldest governmental enactment astatine the infinitesimal successful the state aft the Peoples Redemption Party,  PRP. 

In this interview, helium speaks astir the SDP, issues the enactment is contending with, suspension of its Chairman,  the enactment of a factional National Working Committee,  NWC, coalition,  and its 2027 statesmanlike summons among others.

How is your party, the SDP?

The Social Democratic Party is successful bully signifier and getting amended positioned to spell into the 2027 wide elections and beyond. The enactment had, successful caller times, gone done precise important interior betterment process to cleanse itself, self-regulate, restructure and fortify its nationalist operation crossed Nigeria from the National Working Committee, NWC down to the zonal levels wherever you person the National Vice-Chairmen of the six zones,  the states,  section governments and the wards.

It  is harmless to accidental that contiguous SDP is amended positioned than as  it was successful 2023 successful presumption of nationalist structure, cohesion, and capableness to beryllium an effectual nationalist governmental party.

In May this year, we had the NWC afloat constituted to person a afloat complement of members. Before May, we did not person the statutory membership, determination were vacant positions. All the presumption were filled connected May 15.

We had the Deputy National Chairman, North and South and the National Financial Secretary brought successful and person a afloat complement of the 15 members required by the constitution. On June 24, we had a large cleansing operation. We were deliberate and intentional successful bringing that about. We corrected the errors and anomaly successful the operation successful presumption of integrity, nationalist cognition and nationalist standing of our strategy operations and our interior mechanism.

And that manifested successful the National Working Committee moving by bulk solution to suspend our National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Gabam, and 2 others, implicit cases of maladministration, gross-violation of the provisions of the constitution.

Penultimate Thursday  the full complement of the National Working Committee visited the erstwhile Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, to felicitate with him connected his 84th birthday.

The enactment is up and running, and  participated successful the past bye-elections that the Independent National Electoral Commission,  INEC, conducted crossed the 12 states and 16 constituencies successful the country.

What is your instrumentality connected the behaviour of the bye-elections? Are you pleased with the show of the INEC?

INEC is simply a enactment successful progress, conscionable arsenic the federation itself is simply a enactment successful progress. We person made our presumption known aft the elections. INEC did not truly bash good successful curtailing immoderate of the grey areas, and  excesses. In the election, determination were reports of gross violations of the Electoral Act, vote-buying was rampant, radical stuffing ballot boxes. All of these things were witnessed successful the election. And determination are videos of infractions.

We could bash better. And it was for that crushed that we said that the result of the predetermination brought to the fore the imperative of cardinal electoral reform. We indispensable beryllium deliberate and intentional astir it due to the fact that if the predetermination is not just and the process is not credible, you cannot get the volition of the people, and dependable of the people. And the infinitesimal the radical suffer involvement successful the process, we person mislaid it.

The existent INEC president is connected his mode out, he’s rounding disconnected his circuit of duty. So we’re looking guardant to the adjacent antheral oregon pistillate who volition travel in.

Don’t you deliberation your punishment to the president is severe?

We were pursuing the process and trying to deploy interior mechanics to spot that we could checkmate each of these things. It didn’t conscionable hap overnight. It took time. He began to evade, tally distant from meetings, ceremonial meetings. It is statutory work of the National Chairman to telephone for NEC, NWC meetings. Between 2022 and now, helium did not convene NEC gathering for once.

And the constitution says, you are...