The 36 state chapter chairmen of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have urged former Vice Presidential, Atiku Abubakar; former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai; and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi to go back to their respective wards if they wished to join the SDP.
Rising from a meeting on Thursday in Abuja, the party chairmen said the three politicians and others intending to join the SDP must observe due process before they can be admitted into the party.
Stating that there would be no preferential treatment for any new entrants, the chairmen said they must comply with the rules guiding membership of the party.
Recall that Atiku, El-Rufai and Obi, had a few weeks ago, declared their membership of a yet to crystalise coalition at a forum attended by the national chairman of the SDP, Shehu Gabam.
El-Rufai had followed up by declaring that he had joined the SDP, a claim the party’s stakeholders in the Kaduna State chapter, refuted.
Addressing journalists after the Abuja meeting, chairman of the Lagos State SDP chapter, Femi Olaniyi, said no individual can self-admit or register as a member of the party.
While welcoming new members to the party, Olaniyi said such members must comply with the party’s internal structures, which are led by state chairmen.
“New members will be admitted and registered through the party’s internal structures, led by the state chairmen,” he said.
The chairmen warned that the party’s democratic structures at the state and national levels must not be dismantled or altered to accommodate new entrants.
They insisted that elected officials should be allowed to complete their terms, regardless of the ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 election.
The party chiefs admitted that merger talks with other parties might warrant some structural adjustments to accommodate new members.
They however, cautioned that issues like changes to the party’s name, logo, insignia, slogan, or any drastic alterations to the party’s constitution or manifesto must not be treated lightly.
According to them, such issues and changes should be thoroughly discussed by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) before any action is taken.
The state chairmen, who were joined by their FCT counterpart, also demanded that the party’s existing democratic structures must be consulted in key decision making processes.
According to them, the SDP must be open to every Nigerian to pursue their political aspirations without subsuming the party under the ambitions of any individuals or groups.
The chairmen dismissed fears of being sidelined with the entry of certain prominent politicians into the SDP.
“We are not afraid anybody will hijack our party. But we don’t want those manipulators, especially from APC, PDP or Labour Party, to do a kangaroo registration for them.
“We acknowledge that some structural adjustments may be necessary. So we are going to harmonise and see how we can go about it. If you are bringing 30,000 people to my 40,000 structure, I cannot expect to have both the chairman and secretary.
“But we must go about it in a very rightful manner and allow the internal mechanism to decide the situation.”
The chairmen passed a confidence vote in the Gabam-led National Working Committee (NWC).
They also commend party members nationwide for their outstanding efforts in building and repositioning the party.
