* Says ‘he didn’t understand party discipline’
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has explained the circumstances that led to the expulsion of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai from the party.
He similarly distanced the SDP from several prominent politicians now positioning themselves in opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking during a recent interview, Adebayo said El-Rufai’s problems with the party began shortly after the former governor publicly announced that he had joined the SDP.
According to him, party officials at the ward, local government and state levels reportedly had no record of El-Rufai’s registration when they began inquiries following the announcement.
“The ward complained that they saw him (el-Rufai) on television saying he had joined the party, but they had not seen him register,” Adebayo said, adding that investigations by the national leadership revealed irregularities in the membership process.
He claimed that El-Rufai obtained a membership card independently and created a separate register rather than completing the proper registration procedure through the party’s grassroots structure.
The SDP leadership, he said, initially attempted to resolve the issue by asking the former governor to regularise his membership through the appropriate channels.
However, Adebayo alleged that tensions escalated when El-Rufai began holding meetings with national officials and making public pronouncements on behalf of the party.
He also claimed that the former governor pushed for the admission of a coalition of politicians into the SDP without undergoing the party’s internal screening process.
Party officials eventually disciplined El-Rufai after he allegedly ignored repeated warnings to follow the party’s rules, leading to his expulsion.
Beyond El-Rufai’s case, Adebayo criticised what he described as attempts by members of Nigeria’s “old political establishment” to regroup under opposition platforms ahead of the 2027 elections.
He mentioned figures such as former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami and former Senate President David Mark, arguing that many politicians now presenting themselves as opposition had previously spent years in government without addressing the governance challenges they currently condemn.
According to Adebayo, the SDP would not align with such figures if doing so undermines the party’s push for a political reset in the country.
“Our position is that Nigerians need a clean break from the past,” he said, adding that the party intends to build a movement driven by ordinary citizens rather than alliances among political elites.
Adebayo maintained that the SDP’s focus ahead of the 2027 election would be on mobilising voters and presenting what he described as a credible alternative to the current administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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