SDP’s Adebayo accuses APC of fueling opposition crises, says Tinubu not ‘Candidate-General’ of Nigeria

Politics

LAGOS, Nigeria (NPA) — Adewole Adebayo, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of fueling internal crises in opposition political parties across the country.

Adebayo made the allegation while speaking during an appearance on the ARISE News Morning Show on Tuesday, monitored by our correspondent.

According to him, several opposition parties, including the SDP, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the Labour Party, are currently battling internal disputes allegedly caused by political interference from the ruling government.

Speaking on a factional figure he identified as Attahiru Musa, who he said was parading himself as a presidential candidate of the SDP, Adebayo dismissed the claim and insisted the party did not recognise him.

“We don’t know him, and we are not worried about that. The SDP is a party that is well known,” Adebayo said, adding that becoming a presidential candidate of a political party requires due process and legitimacy.

The former SDP presidential candidate alleged that President Tinubu was afraid of genuine political competition and was working to weaken opposition platforms ahead of future elections. “President Tinubu is afraid,” he said.

Adebayo also criticised recent party primary elections in the country, including those conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing them as fraudulent. “You can see the Option A4 fraud. The Option A4 we knew was where people queue behind candidates openly. What we have now is people counting wrongly and fraudulently,” he alleged.

According to him, the ruling party was allegedly sponsoring pseudo-candidates in opposition parties in order to weaken internal structures and eliminate political competition.

Speaking on the leadership crisis within the SDP, Adebayo referred to former National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, saying he was elected in June 2022 but later faced disciplinary action over alleged criminal matters.

He alleged that the government used security agencies to forcefully reintroduce Gabam into the party secretariat despite ongoing disputes within the party. “The government used the police to bring him into the party secretariat,” Adebayo claimed.

He insisted that neither the Federal Government nor the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had the constitutional power to impose leadership on political parties.

“INEC does not tell you who the leadership of the party is,” he said.

Adebayo stated that he was less concerned about the leadership tussle itself and more focused on presenting policies and programmes that the SDP could offer Nigerians.

The former presidential candidate further accused Tinubu of interfering excessively in the affairs of political parties, describing the president as acting like a “part-time Chief Justice of Nigeria.”

“Tinubu cannot be the candidate-general of the federation,” he said.

He also accused the government of hypocrisy, noting that Nigerian law prohibits individuals from belonging to multiple political parties while alleging that the ruling establishment was interfering in opposition platforms.

According to him, all political actors must respect democratic principles and abide by the rules guiding Nigeria’s political system.