The national leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Wednesday said the party is ready to offer itself as a vehicle for a national movement to rescue Nigeria from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party dismissed any thoughts of a merger with another political party or an alliance with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, the political relationship with President Tinubu ended in 1992 when he won the Lagos West Senate seat on the platform of the SDP.
Aiyenigba called on those associating the SDP with President Tinubu to desist, emphasizing that there is no such relationship.
It would be recalled that former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, had recently joined the SDP as a national movement to rescue Nigeria. El-Rufai also called on notable politicians to join the party in its mission.
Dismissing insinuations that the SDP is being financed by President Tinubu, Aiyenigba said, “The national leadership of our great party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has in the past days been inundated with calls and expressions of concern about the reckless and mischievous statements credited to some individuals, suggesting that President Bola Tinubu owns and funds the SDP.
“Initially, we chose not to dignify the preposterous claims of those political jobbers, attention and patronage-seeking likes of Joe Igbokwe, Buba Galadima, YY Sani, and Salihu Lukman, with any response so as not to give their false claims any semblance of importance.
“But upon deep reflection, and considering the preponderance of calls from well-meaning patriots, we have decided to respond as follows:
“The SDP is a national political party that runs on the provisions of its constitution and operates based on its people-centred ideology.
“There is no individual who owns the SDP, and there is no godfather anywhere to whom the party reports. Nigerians own the party.
“Beyond the undeniable fact that the SDP provided the foundation upon which the glorious political career of President Tinubu was built, having provided him the platform to contest and win the Senate seat of Lagos West along with Koloworola Akerele Buknor and Senator Anthony Adefuye in the aborted Third Republic, there is no ongoing political connection or relationship whatsoever with the President or his agents regarding any political collaboration.
“The party has, over the years, been solely self-funded through the subscriptions and sacrifices of members across the country. The SDP is not involved in any merger and will not be part of any merger with any political party.
“The SDP remains a well-structured and fully functional political party with verifiable structures at national, state, and local government levels.
“The party condemns the deliberate fabrication of falsehoods by attention-seeking individuals and calls on them to withdraw their unfounded statements against the party.”
Further, the National Publicity Secretary stated, “We declare with a strong sense of commitment to our noble ideals and allegiance to the Nigerian people that we are not in any way distracted, and we will not succumb to the antics and self-serving propaganda of political jobbers.
“The SDP has, over time, been well-primed for this moment. It is getting stronger and is well-positioned to fulfil its destiny as the main opposition force in this era, and the credible alternative vehicle to drive the ongoing swelling national movement to reclaim Nigeria, make the lives of Nigerians truly meaningful, and position the country for true greatness.
“The SDP hereby calls on YY Sani and Buba Galadima, two leaders of the ADP and NNPP, respectively, who have taken delight in calling us names, to desist from their condemnable actions.”
