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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Social Democratic Party (SDP) has ruled out an alliance with the All Progressives Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP) among others ahead of next month’s presidential election.
It specifically denied liaising with the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that its standard bearer, Adebayo Adebayo, was all out to win the forthcoming election and will not step down for any candidate.
SDP National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, who spoke at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, said the clarification became necessary sequel to a statement credited to a former member of the party, Alfa Mohammad who had claimed that the SDP had adopted Tinubu as its candidate.
Mohammad had claimed that the SDP had done its assessment and discovered that the presidential flag-bearer of the ruling party is the best.
Piqued by the claim, Aiyenigba described Mohammed as a compulsive impostor and fabricator of falsehood who had been expelled from SDP.
He described Mohammed as a member of the APC and a strong member of a political group committed to the actualisation of Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition, South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA).
“The attention of the leadership of the SDP has been called to some dishonest and illegitimate publications by one Alfa Mohammed who had claimed he was speaking on behalf of our great Party, and purportedly with respect to the Party’s Presidential Candidate and collaboration with other political parties. But SDP disowns. Mohammed and insists that ‘He is on his own.’
“As a matter of fact, Alfa Mohammed is a complete persona non-grata in the Social Democratic Party. He is a compulsive impostor and fabricator of falsehood.
“The Party had in the past put a disclaimer on this same man, a former member of the party when it was first discovered that he was fond of concocting spurious, sometimes fraudulent, and unfounded reports and stories.
“It was this habitual recklessness and outright disregard for decorum by Alfa Mohammed that led to his being relieved of his position as Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Party in November 2018 before he was suspended from the Party in March 2019 by the National Working Committee (NWC) and later expelled by the National Executive Committee (NEC) in August 2019. His expulsion was upheld by the subsequent National Convention of the Party in June 2022
“It is true to his character for Mohammed who has not been part of any activities of the SDP in four years, that is, since early 2019 but has intermittently pushed fabricated lies to mislead and defraud the public with the malicious intents to tanish the reputation of targeted individuals in the SDP or in other Party under the irrational guise that he is fabricating a “faction.
“We note that no political party can curtail disciplined or expelled ex-members from grumbling or groaning to get noticed but faction-fabricators lik Mohammed need to be called to order when their shamelessness start to impinge on the sensibilities of the public.
“We are not interested in what has motivated Mohammed for his recklessness or how this has become his character hallmark, therefore, we formally reported his serial misinformation and misrepresentation to the Inspector General of Police in August 2022 for the Apex Law Enforcer to call him to order for “Impersonation, False Pretences and Conduct Likely to Cause Breach of Peace and Mohammed is, indeed, under watch and investigation for criminal impersonation
“While the Police continues with its investigation of the mischief by Alfa Mohammed, we call on all members of the Social Democratic Party nationwide and the public, in general, to disregard the reckless publications of Mohammed because they are false and malevolent and, above all, they are not in the interest of social justice or of our pursuit to combat poverty and insecurity for peace, progress and prosperity to reign in our country.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), has expressed readiness to enter into alliance with other political parties contesting the February elections.
He stated this when he visited the National Chairman of the SDP, Shehu Gabam, at the party’s secretariat on Thursday in Abuja.
Noting that cross fertilization of ideas between parties was necessary at this moment, he said there is nothing wrong in parties coming together to work for the development of the country.
Al-Mustapha said: “Numerous ideas exist across parties. It might be strange to you seeing a candidate from a party coming to another party at such a critical time of elections.
“We’re introducing something new this time around. The fact that I belong to AA doesn’t mean I cannot go to another party.
“I have visited visited leaders of a party that is unique. I am from a unique party. You may not be surprised to see me in another party’s headquarters tomorrow. We should be light hearted and be broadminded”.
Responding, Gabam decried the security challenges and poor state of the economy, saying the present government has done next to nothing to improve the lives of Nigerians.
Noting that Nigeria is trapped right now, he said the country was in need of younger generation who have the capacity, dexterity and capability to drive a new thinking and generate the idea on how to move forward.
Gabam said: “The country is stranded somehow, so we need a collection of people who have the determination to look beyond their immediate political party, look at the larger Nigeria to drive.”
