The SDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Adewole Adebayo, says that a longlist of notable politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi are in talks to join the party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In an interview with Channels TV, Adebayo said Atiku and Obi’s men are in talks for their principals to team up with the SDP.
“People are joining my party, and we are welcoming them. You can see how active I am in welcoming them. The only little issue we have with some of them is to change the culture where if you have not been in an environment where rules are taken seriously.
Some of them are doing some Boy Scouts, black market operations, we are dealing with that. But we welcome them into the party. All these people you have mentioned, El-Rufai, Atiku Abubakar, and even former Governor Peter Obi, are coming. A lot of people are coming, and we will welcome them.”
When he was asked to clarify if Obi, a former Anambra State governor, is joining the SDP, Adebayo said
“Supposedly, until somebody joins, we don’t know. But people have told me, and the Financial Secretary (SDP) has also informed me, that they are talking. So we will welcome everybody.
Surely, when we come in, and we don’t become a tower of Babel; if we come in, follow the rules and allow one person to emerge transparently, clearly, without cheating, without criminality the way we did our convention in 2022, people applauded us transparently, no court case, no crisis, no allegations.
If they can stick to our culture and follow the way we do in the SDP and produce a good alternative to Nigerians, we are going to manifestly defeat the APC and retire President Tinubu to Lagos or wherever he chooses in Nigeria.”
Obi, who enjoys the backing of millions of Nigerian youths, came third in the last presidential election after polling about six million votes. Atiku was second in the poll won by the APC’s Bola Tinubu.
Despite suggestions to the contrary, Obi has repeatedly said he remains in LP, the party that powered his 2023 presidential ambition.