*Says alliance must be built on voters, not politicians
The leader and presidential candidate of the social Democratic Party SDP in the 2023 general elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo (SDP) has distanced his party from ongoing opposition coalition talks, insisting that the path to defeating the ruling party in 2027 lies not in elite political alliances but in mobilising millions of disengaged Nigerian voters.
In an interview, Adebayo challenged the widely held belief that opposition parties must unite to stand a chance, arguing instead that most coalition discussions among political actors lack credibility, discipline, and shared values.
“Strategic partners in an election are not necessarily politicians,” he said. “The real partners are segments of society—those who have not been participating in the process.”
He pointed to voter apathy as the central issue, noting that in the last general election, a significant majority of registered voters did not turn out. According to him, any meaningful coalition must begin with engaging this large, inactive population rather than negotiating power-sharing among political elites.
“If you want to have a coalition, you must find where the 80 percent who didn’t show up are and address why they stayed away,” Adebayo said.
The SDP leader expressed skepticism about current coalition efforts, describing some participants as politicians seeking another opportunity to repeat past governance failures. He warned that aligning with individuals lacking accountability or integrity would undermine credibility.
“You cannot be talking about corruption and accountability and then align with people whose actions contradict those values,” he stated.
Adebayo revealed that while the SDP has held discussions with other parties, many of the engagements have been unproductive due to internal crises within those parties.
He cited instances where multiple rival aspirants from the same platform approached talks without first resolving their internal disputes.
“We told them, don’t bring your internal problems into coalition discussions. Go back and organise your party first,” he said.
According to him, the SDP’s concept of coalition differs significantly from conventional political mergers.
Rather than elite agreements, the party is building what he described as a “civic coalition” involving grassroots groups, professional bodies, and ordinary citizens.
“Our kind of coalition is when civic groups and ordinary Nigerians, who ordinarily would not participate, begin to show interest,” he explained.
Adebayo also suggested that formal coalition talks would only become meaningful after party primaries, when clearer leadership structures and candidates emerge across parties.
Despite recent defections from the SDP, he downplayed their significance, arguing that the party’s growing membership base outweighs isolated exits driven by personal ambition.
“For every few thousand who leave, tens of thousands are joining. What matters is not the noise around departures but the substance of participation,” he said.
He maintained that the SDP’s long-term objective goes beyond simply unseating the current administration, emphasizing the need for a governance model rooted in principles rather than personalities.
“Some people are satisfied once the president is removed. For us, that is only the beginning,” Adebayo noted. “The real task is to replace the system with one that reflects good governance and accountability.”
His comments signal a clear divergence from the dominant opposition strategy and suggest that the battle for 2027 may not only be about coalition arithmetic, but also about competing visions of political mobilisation and reform.
