*Unveils Factors Making SDP Most Structured Party In Nigeria
*Says Supreme Court Judges 'll Face Wrath Of God Over Kogi Guber Election
With the next general elections slated for year 2027, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, said the party is open and ready for patriotic partnership and will work with any Nigerian interested in moving Nigeria forward.
He spoke in Abuja when the Executive members of the Association of Corporate Online Editors (ACOE) paid him a courtesy visit at the SDP Secretariat.
Noting that using the word entering 'alliance' with other parties is very complicated, he declared that the APC alliance has already collapsed Nigeria.
He said "Alliance is a complicated statement. You see, APC alliance has collapsed Nigeria. But we are willing to work with any partner that is ready to move Nigeria forward.
"In terms of alliance, I'm not sure what the alliance will be, given the alliance that has happened when we experimented." he stated
The party in the 1990s had produced a presidential flag bearer, Alhaji Moshood Abiola, whose election was annulled by the military government, despite been considered by many as the freest and most fair election in the history of Nigeria.
Recognizing the election as the freest in Nigeria many years after, 12th of June is now celebrated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day every year.
With the great heights attained by the party in the 1990s, the party chairman took time during the courtesy visit to highlight factors that have subsequently made the SDP the most structured and formidable political party in the country.
He said "What we are doing as a party is to remain very foremost, what we are doing is fusion. We allow parties, individuals, to fuse into our ideology so that we can strengthen the capacity of the party.
"Of course, most of the innovations that we are bringing in today are very safe that protect anybody who wants to contest election. We don't apply those dubious processes for collecting money from candidates.
"Once you want to contest, you pay directly into the party account and collect your form. No other sub-charges like what happens in other parties. We establish a very clean process."
He added that the SDP is not an ethnic or regional established party.
Stressing that the SDP is a national platform, he said that its policy is not zerod in on any individual.
"Our policy is on any Nigerian that has the capacity to govern Nigeria. We can work for Nigeria 24 hours without feeling distressed.
"We need an energetic someone who will drive the country, who will change the narrative, who will be on the world stage and talk about the image of Nigeria, the new Nigeria.
"So that is what we are focused on. So, we are not tied to all the bureaucracies that are surrounding the PDP and APC. We are completely outside that.
"There is no fixation, we don't have any god-father in the SDP. We drive the policy of the SDP." he said
According to him, the party charge zero percent for the disabled persons to contest elections under its platform, while women pay only expression of interest, and Youths pay 50%.
He noted that the SDP is the first party in the history of Nigeria to have a digital studio with standard equipments including drones, being deployed to cover party events and other activities.
Unlike other political parties, he said the SDP has four women as members of its National Working Committee (NWC).
He also argued that no party in the country is experiencing influx of new members on a daily basis like the SDP.
The National Chairman also pointed out that influence of money during elections is greatly making many Nigerians loose interest in elections in Nigeria.
“You have to apply different strategies to win elections because we’ve seen how money has damaged the electoral system and killed the mindset of an average Nigerian that their votes will not count.
But he said the party is helping electorates to exercise their franchise.
“However, SDP is also existing to help citizens know how to exercise their franchise and making sure their votes counts as it not all about casting votes but the law permits voters to stay around the parameters in ensuring their votes counts”.
Hoping that the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) will live up to expectations in the coming local government elections, he said that the party is fully ready for the elections.
On the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Kogi State governorship election, he said the party has already taken the apex court to God.
"We have appealed the Supreme Court judgement by taking the case to God. They must face the wrath of God. Whether you are a judge or not, you will surely die and face God.
"On that note, we conceded that they have taken us out. We have taken our complain to God." he stated