Political Pundits Say Gov Abdulrazaq’s Meeting With Adamu Manko Signals The Start Of Effort To Whittle Down SDP In Kwara

Though the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had been in the consciousness of Nigerians since the aborted third republic while it was also the party that produced late Chief MKO Abiola as president-elect, nothing much was however heard about it until some months before the 2023 presidential election.

 Sources said it was a backup plan of President Bola Tinubu to run on the party’s ticket if he had failed to get the APC presidential nomination.

This, we learned, was why it was easy to get considered as ‘third force’ in Kwara State and it also accounted for reasons why the gubernatorial primary election was ‘competitive’.

President Bola Tinubu not only eventually got the APC presidential nomination but also ultimately won the 2023 presidential election.

SDP had consequently gone into abeyance until last week announcement by former governor Nasir El-Rufai declaring it as his new party.

With the former FCT minister’s strong determination and motivation to make SDP become a formidable party, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, has apparently begun to take proactive measures as one of President Bola Tinubu’s strong loyalists.

Birds whispered that he has begun efforts to whittle down the party in the State of Harmony.

The state SDP had before the 2023 General Election had a serving member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ganiyu Olododo, Alhaji Hakeem Lawal, Alhaji Adamu Manko, Professor Oba Abdulraheem , Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, Chief Sunday Babalola, Hon Saheed Popoola and others as party bigwigs.

Professor Oba Abdulraheem later left SDP for NNPP and later APC.

Kwara State SDP is virtually left with only Alhaji Hakeem Lawal and Alhaji Adamu Manko who can raise money for campaigns and routine activities and the governor is about to poach from the party and aims to ultimately have it desolated.

Birds whispered that the governor is doing this to ensure ‘solid support’ for Mr President in the state.

Governor Abdulrazaq met with Alhaji Adamu Manko behind closed-door in Ilorin last week.

Manko was the Kwara North SDP senate candidate in the 2023 National Assembly Elections.

The governor was said to have told him during the meeting that he should leave SDP for APC noting that wherever the pendulum swings in respect of the APC gubernatorial nomination, Adamu will not lose anything as the ‘senate nomination’ will be moving to the Nupe axis of Kwara North.

The current occupant of the parliament seat, Senator Sadiq Umar is from Kaiama.

Gist mongers told Team@orientactualmags.com that Alhaji Adamu Manko who was invited by the governor through Alhaji Yahaya Seriki did not make a ‘categorical stance’ known but rather promised to revert after returning from Umrah, the lesser hajj.

If Alhaji Manko eventually leaves the state SDP, the party will be left with only Alhaji Hakeem Lawal as its bigwig as Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo had not only returned to APC but also led others to form the Kwara Redemption Movement (KRM).

Alhaji Ganiyu Olododo, whose son, Chief Abdulqawiy Olododo , is a principal member of Governor Abdulrazaq’s cabinet, has opted for ‘silent mode’, while no one knows where the likes of Alhaji Khaleel Bolaji, Architect Kale Belgore and others belong to, at least for now-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you