A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Buba Galadima, has described the Social Democratic Party as a faction of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Speaking on The Morning Show on Arise Television on Tuesday, Galadima claimed that the SDP was merely an extension of the APC, questioning the party’s independence.
“The SDP is a branch of the APC. It was those APC people that moved to what you now call SDP. How many people from other parties have moved to the SDP?
“That is the question the people or the media should ask. It is not out of place. You are in Lagos, this is the character of Lagos; to decimate opposition,” Galadima said.
His remarks come amid the recent defection of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, from the APC to the SDP.
El-Rufai has been mobilising politicians to join the party in a bid to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Galadima also criticised opposition politicians who rejoined the APC after contesting elections.
He cited the case of former Lagos PDP governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, known as Jandor, who returned to the APC on Monday, citing internal crises in the PDP.
“Look at what Jandor has done. Look at the support the people of Lagos have given Jandor. In fact, I will say that he won the election. It was taken away from him.
“But look at him, he just backpedalled and went back to the APC. How are we going to do opposition? We should do opposition of principles, even if you’re alone, you should stand on your own principles,” Galadima stated.
He, however, insisted that the NNPP would not enter coalitions just to gain power.
He said, “We are a party of ideology. We are a party of principle. We don’t just go into a coalition for the sake of it because we want power at all costs.
“We are content with the platform we have. One day, we can grow this party and win the national election.”
