With the 2027 elections drawing closer, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is betting that opposition unity at the polling unit, rather than at the ballot paper, could make the difference.
National Chairman Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe said on Thursday in Abuja that the party will team up with other opposition groups to train polling agents jointly and set up common situation rooms across the country.
He spoke at a meeting with nine of its governorship candidates, convened to compare notes and fine-tune strategy.
The plan, he explained, is meant to give opposition parties a stronger hand in monitoring polling units and guarding the integrity of results.
But Gombe drew a firm line on what kind of cooperation the SDP will accept. He rejected the “rainbow coalition” that he says the All Progressives Congress (APC) is promoting, describing it as a ploy to infiltrate opposition parties and hollow out their structures. “We don’t have anything to do with the so-called rainbow coalition,” he said, stressing that the SDP stands with fellow opposition parties in a coalition of the Nigerian people.
He cautioned members against striking unauthorised deals, saying the party would invoke disciplinary measures against anyone who compromises its interests.
On readiness, Gombe said the SDP is prepared to contest and rejects any move to postpone the polls. The party’s flagbearers are Prince Dr Adewale Adebayo (president) and Dr Usman Bugaje (vice president).
The chairman also took aim at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging it has refused to publish the names of some SDP candidates despite the party’s claim of full compliance with nomination rules. The matter is before the courts. He criticised moves to disqualify ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, and called on INEC, the judiciary and security agencies to remain neutral. Concerns over the voters’ register and the creation of polling units were also flagged.
Chairman of the SDP Governorship Candidates Forum and Nasarawa candidate, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, said the gathering would help identify organisational gaps and boost readiness at every level of the elections. He linked rising public frustration to economic hardship and the neglect of ordinary Nigerians.
Candidates from Oyo, Benue, Niger, Adamawa, Plateau, Kano, Gombe and Bauchi also attended.