Tag: SDP

Popular entertainer, Obinna Simon better known in the entertainment industry as MC Tagwaye has joined the Social Democratic Party(ADP).

Tagwaye, as he is popularly called, was a member of the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign team in the 2023 general election. 

He joined former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai who also left the APC for the SDP.

In a statement he personally signed on Friday, he said his decision stemmed from a deep-seated conviction that the APC had deviated from its original ideals and no longer committed to the welfare and progress of the Nigerian people.

According to him, the APC’s lack of reward system for loyal members, its gerontocratic leadership structure, and its policies that perpetuate hardship on low-income earners have collectively sounded the death knell on my membership.

He said: “After months of intense consultation and introspection, I, Obinna Simon, AKA MC Tagwaye, have made the bold decision to resign my membership from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Read Also: SDP youths reject El-Rufai’s defection, accuse him of political hijack

“I have formally submitted my resignation to my ward chairman of the APC, marking the end of my association with the party.

“I urge all Nigerians who share my vision to join me on this journey.

“I was a member of the presidential campaign team in the last general election.

“This decisive move is born out of my deep-seated conviction that the APC has deviated from its original ideals and is no longer committed to the welfare and progress of the Nigerian people.

“The party’s glaring lack of reward system for loyal members, its gerontocratic leadership structure, and its policies that perpetuate hardship on low-income earners have collectively sounded the death knell on my membership.

“Furthermore, the APC’s internal democracy has been egregiously compromised, with a few power brokers dictating the party’s direction and disregarding the voices and aspirations of the majority.”

He further noted that the SDP “has emerged as a beacon of hope, with its unwavering commitment to the youth, internal democracy, transparency, and accountability. The party’s vision for a new Nigeria, where the welfare and progress of all citizens are paramount, resonates deeply with me.”

The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 general election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has praised past Nigerian leaders for their commitment to national cause.

He noted that the nation’s founding fathers dedicated themselves to uniting and uplifting the people through patriotic service and good governance.

The SDP stalwart said today’s political leaders are different from those who fought for independence and laid the foundation for Nigeria’s nationhood.

Adebayo spoke at Arewa Movement for Good Governance in Kaduna State where he criticised the current political leaders for deviating from those ideals.

The SDP stalwat noted that the leaders who fought for Nigeria’s independence and who took over the country’s leadership at independence, including Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, and Tafawa Balewa, would be disappointed by the turn of events in the country.

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“The kind of conversation that is going on in Nigeria today will make our ancestors turn in their graves and wonder who trained the present crop of politicians,” he said.

Adebayo, who is also the Leader of the SDP, praised the country’s founding fathers for their vision but regretted that successive leaders after them lost bearing and have been walking in circles ever since.

“Our leaders in the past had many of the visions. They knew what the world would be – that we would have to fend for ourselves; that we would have a large population, and that the large population, if not empowered with resources, would be a big problem.

“None of these problems that we are facing today that our leaders are saying they didn’t know were unknown to our leaders even with minimum education 60 years ago; they knew that these were the challenges we would face,” he said.

Addressing the specific challenges currently facing the northern part of the country, Adebayo said: “Sir Ahmadu Bello knew what the population in the North would be like about this time. The past leaders in the North also knew that we have diversity; there was no pretence about that.

“None of the leaders in the North was unaware that there were different religions in the North. None of them was unaware that we have different ethnicities in the North, but the slogan was ‘One North, One People’. It was not just a slogan, it was a government policy.

“So, when you entered the Government House in Kaduna, you would see Muslims, Christians, and others doing their work. If there was a programme being launched in Kaduna, you would find it in Potiskum, Zungeru, Idda, and everywhere else in the North. That was the situation.

“There were minimal rail services, a few airports, only in Kano and Kaduna. But if you asked anybody you found anywhere in Funtua what the government policy on any issue was, he would tell you. If a decision was made in the northern region’s House of Assembly and you went as far as Gusau, they would tell you. If you went to Ilorin, they would tell you.

“And they were able to do it effectively. They had so many civil servants in the North. The number of doctors in northern Nigeria at independence was less than 50, but today, almost every family has a doctor.

“So, how many dams were in the North when they took over? We were just struggling to do Kainji Dam at that time. Now, we have a river basin authority everywhere.

“So, the new narrative that we are talking about is actually a narrative to take us back to the past. If today we have elderly people and you ask them what they want, they are mostly going to say give me back Sardauna and leave me alone. It means that the politics we have done in the last 50 years is probably a waste of time. And maybe now is the time for harvesting.”

The SDP leader blamed the current crop of politicians for causing division among Nigerians instead of promoting peace and unity as the founding fathers did.

According to him, the development has led to the masses hating their leaders.

He said: “The problem with the Nigerian politicians of today is that they have made the people to hate them because we are a united people with disunited leaders. But the unity of the Nigerian leaders is an alibi to escape responsibility.

“When you have hungry children, the mother and father will start fighting. So, the children will start to ask: ‘We are hungry, who will feed us?’ So, Nigerian leaders know what they are doing.

“The Nigerian masses are wiser than the elite. They know that what we are fighting are the grievances of the elites.

“So, Nigerians are watching the elites and saying let them sort themselves out because when the economy was balanced, the poor did not get anything.”

• ODIEC presents Certificates of Return to 18 elected council chairmen

Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ondo State has rejected results of last Saturday’s local government elections held across the 18 local governments.

Ondo Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) had announced candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winners of councillorship and chairmanship seats, but SDP said the election was a “show of shame.”

Ondo State Chairman of SDP, Ebenezer Akinbuli, alleged in Akure that there were irregularities, harassment and intimidation of their agents.

He said last Saturday’s exercise was “selection 2.0”.

He called for cancellation of the elections and removal of ODIEC Chairman, Mr. Joseph Aremo.

“We’ve engaged him, and he assured us as a party that he was going to be a fair umpire. But it’s unfortunately that he didn’t do as he promised.

“We call for cancellation of the election because all the polling units across the 18 local governments were floored with manners of irregularities. Electoral officers were not given the sheets to write the results of the elections and they announced APC candidates winners when they did not even tell us the results.

“We condemn the election because there is no strict adherence to the rules guiding the election by ODIEC. They did not provide forms for the electoral officers; they just gave them plain sheet of papers to write the results of the election at the collation centres. This is pure breach of the rules that guided the election in the state.

“APC thugs took over the election, they were the ones thumb-printing and there was no security in 95 per cent of the polling units across the councils.

Read Also: PSFU arrests students, corps members over alleged fraud

“They already had the ballot papers thumb-printed in their favour before the exercise, which we described as a broad day light robbery of our electoral process. We are not going to accept this. In view of all these, we call for cancellation of the election.’’

Spokesman for Ondo APC, Alex Kalejaiye, said the people came out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice in an orderly manner befitting of a politically-sophisticated entity.

“The leadership style of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa endears APC to the people. This was complemented by the quality of candidates, with intimidating credentials, put forward by the party.

“We acknowledge the contributions of security agencies and other stakeholders, who demonstrated belief in the tenets of democracy.”

Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) yesterday presented Certificates of Return to the 18 elected chairmen and vice-chairmen.

ODIEC Chairman Aremo presented the certificates to the chairmen and their deputies in Akure.

“The people have spoken in a clear language. We congratulate our elected chairmen and councillors on the victory at the polls. Our expectation is that they will justify the confidence reposed in them by the electorate, the government and the party.”

The deputy governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mrs. Susan Gbemisola Alabi, has resigned from the party.

Mrs. Alabi said she resigned to pursue new opportunities and directions.

In a letter she addressed to the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, Alabi said she had valued her time with the party.

“However, after careful consideration, I believe it is in my best interest to pursue new opportunities and directions.

Read Also: Ondo polls: REC denies membership of APC

“Please also note that I have given notice of my resignation as the SDP deputy governorship candidate in the 2024 governorship election to Otunba Bamidele Akingboye, the SDP governorship candidate.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity and your support during my time in SDP. Thank you for your support and camaraderie during my time with SDP. I wish the party continuous success in its future endeavours.”

The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in last year’s general election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has said the judgment that led to seizing Nigeria’s presidential aircraft by a Chinese company is a temporary setback that will be vacated during the next hearing.

He said no entity of the state attaches assets, money, or property belonging to a sovereign nation to contracts.

Adebayo noted that things went wrong when the Chinese firm and the Ogun State government, which were supposed to be partners, became opponents and started litigation.

He said: “Sometimes, these businesses outlive the tenure of the incumbent governor, and the successor might not understand the seriousness and decide to terminate the contract.

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“But internationally, when you engage investors and you sign these contracts, you are not only signing commercial contracts, you are also signing treaties in some situations. If there is a dispute between the government and the investor, the investor may decide to sue on its own, in a regular court, or it may go into arbitration, or state treaty arbitration.

“In this case, as a Nigerian doing business in China, there is an agreement, internationally, which Nigeria and China are signatories to, where they say if our citizen is doing business in the other country, they can do arbitration through the mechanism of the treaty.

“So, the issue we need to understand is that the dispute is not originally a Federal Government obligation; it is an obligation of Ogun State. But under public international law, subdivisions, subsidiaries, and sub-nationals are not recognised internationally…”