The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has surfaced as a possible leader of the eagerly awaited coalition ahead of the 2027 elections, since the two main opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), are embroiled in internal strife. This comes after Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the SDP.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
That One of the founding members of the APC, El-Rufai, made the change soon after meeting behind closed doors with Pastor Tunde Bakare, who previously stood as a presidential candidate alongside former President Muhammadu Buhari, and former Osun State Governor and Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola. El-Rufai, who has positioned himself as a key player in the opposition coalition, met with Buhari in Kaduna last week and allegedly told him about his plans to defect.
Discussions concerning the coalition have also brought up former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Transportation Minister Chibuike Amaechi, and former Attorney General and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami. In the 2027 election, the coalition’s main goal is to keep President Bola Tinubu from winning a second term.
Atiku Abubakar is still apprehensive about quitting the PDP, where he ran for president in 2019 and 2023, despite the coalition talks. Although he has been outspoken about assembling an opposition coalition to oppose the APC, he recently refuted rumors that he had defected from the PDP, reiterating his dedication to the party. Similar to this, former governor of Ekiti State Kayode Fayemi denied rumors that he had left the APC, saying in a succinct statement that he was still a devoted founding member of the party.
El-Rufai’s decision to join the SDP was reportedly a calculated effort to see how the ruling party would react, with more opposition leaders anticipated to follow suit. El-Rufai wants to “woo members of the CPC camp who have been sidelined within the APC,” according to a political insider who spoke to Leadership under anonymity.
In an interview on Arise TV, El-Rufai, who has a tense relationship with his successor, Governor Uba Sani, had made hints about quitting the APC, implying that the party had turned away from him. His continued interactions with SDP leaders since 2023 have stoked rumors that he would defect, especially after the Senate rejected President Tinubu’s appointment for him as a minister, a move El-Rufai has blamed on Tinubu.
Buhari first established the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in anticipation of his failed 2011 presidential campaign. Prior to the 2015 elections, which saw Buhari win, the CPC merged with Bola Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
According to reports, the SDP was selected because of its relative stability, which makes it a strong contender for opposing forces. Following the PDP dispute in 2015, several party leaders had contemplated switching to the SDP in the event that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff’s faction had defeated Senator Ahmed Makarfi’s group. In a same vein, some of Tinubu’s supporters considered the SDP a backup plan in case he was not selected for the APC ticket during the 2023 election’s APC primary.
PDP and LP Facing Internal Disarray Both the PDP and the Labour Party are currently battling internal strife that has resulted in a large number of defections as the 2027 elections draw near. With continuous power conflicts between the pro-Atiku group and the G-5 PDP faction, led by former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, the PDP’s internal crisis, which began before the 2023 elections, has gotten worse.
The competition between Wike and his successor, Governor Sim Fubara, over party control is one of the main points of contention, as is the demand for the resignation of PDP Acting National Chairman Amb. Illiya Damagum. The situation has been made more difficult by a separate dispute between Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye over the PDP’s National Secretary post. Even after being acknowledged by the National Working Committee (NWC), the Board of Trustees (BoT), and the party’s governors, Anyanwu is adamant about holding onto the job and is awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court.
Furthermore, a new problem about the PDP’s leadership in the South-South area has surfaced, causing more rifts within the party and uncertainty for candidates in the run-up to the Anambra governorship race. According to some PDP leaders, the APC is stoking these internal conflicts in an effort to erode the opposition and move Nigeria closer to a one-party government.
Similar unrest is being experienced by the Labour Party, which is currently dealing with a leadership crisis. In 2024, a group of party leaders formed a Caretaker Committee under the leadership of former minister Senator Nenadi Usman to oppose Julius Abure’s reappointment as the national chairman of the LP. Abure successfully challenged the move in court, but the party has remained divided.
Internal conflicts are also plaguing the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), which finished fourth in the most recent presidential election. Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate, has been involved in a power battle with party founder Boniface Aniebonam, whom he claims has taken over the party. Three groups have emerged inside the NNPP as a result of this crisis: one is loyal to Kwankwaso, another to Aniebonam, and a third to Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State.
The SDP is the only significant national party that is not now experiencing significant defections or internal strife in the midst of these events. LP Remains Sturdy Despite Political Changes Obiorah Ifoh, the National Publicity Secretary for the LP, dismissed worries about the party’s current situation, claiming that it is still strong and even drawing in new members in spite of ongoing political realignments. “I can tell you that interest is the foundation of political movement. Just last week, a member of the House of Representatives switched from the PDP to the Labour Party.
“The current alignment does not worry us. We are only worried about those with political mandates who are constantly on the go. Before 2027, a lot has happened and will happen in the Labour Party, Obiorah told Leadership. Additionally, he stated that the LP will not make any more pronouncements until the Supreme Court rules on defection.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
