SDP Leader Claims Party Worked with APC to Create Fake Opposition

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) vice-presidential candidate, Usman Bugaje, has claimed that some leaders in the party teamed up with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to form a “false opposition” in Nigeria's politics.

Mr Bugaje, who used to be a member of the House of Representatives, said the recent leadership crisis in the SDP was mainly due to the alleged ties between some party leaders and the ruling party.

He noted that the crisis is now over after the party won three court cases that went to the Supreme Court.

Mr Bugaje spoke during an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday.

When asked about the court cases involving the SDP, including the one with former National Chairman Shehu Gabam, Mr Bugaje said the party has moved past these legal troubles.

“We are confident and we have put all this behind us. Today we were in the Supreme Court and we won the last of the cases that have represented the spanners that are being thrown into our works time and again,” he said.

“But we have now closed everything. We were in the Supreme Court three times. But we have won all the cases and we have put all these things behind us.”

Mr Bugaje explained that the disputes were mainly about who leads the party and alleged that some leaders had been collaborating with the ruling party.

“Yes, it’s all over now. The crisis is largely about the leadership of the party,” he said.

“The leadership of the party, we discovered, has been in cohort with the ruling party. And they wanted to create those kinds of false oppositions that would be supporting the ruling party.”

His statements come as the SDP prepares for the 2027 presidential election, with Adewole Adebayo as the presidential candidate and Mr Bugaje as the vice-presidential candidate.

The party recently launched its policy plan for 2027-2031, called Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity, which aims to tackle issues of security, productivity, and prosperity.

Mr Bugaje mentioned that he didn’t plan to run for office but was convinced to join the ticket.

“I think it’s a heavy responsibility. But also, it is something that one has always been looking forward to, not necessarily being on the ballot, but basically confronting the perennial problem of this country in the last 27 years,” he said.

He explained that he wants the party to support younger politicians and fresh ideas instead of focusing on personalities.

“First, I feel we should promote younger people. And the most important thing is not just the youth, but the ideas. Because it is the ideas that really bring about the transformation,” he said.

Mr Bugaje praised Mr Adebayo for staying committed to the SDP despite its problems.

“Here is a young man. If you look at even from 2023, I didn’t get to know him. I heard about him, but I didn’t have the opportunity to listen to him. But after that, first he remained in the party. He didn’t run away.”

Mr Bugaje said Mr Adebayo’s loyalty shows his dedication to the party’s vision.

After listening to him, he found Mr Adebayo to have “clarity, accuracy, precision” and ideas that could change Nigeria.

According to Mr Bugaje, Mr Adebayo joined the party in 1991 at just 19 years old and has stayed a member since.

Mr Bugaje said the SDP plans to move away from what he calls Nigeria’s typical “politics of big men.”

“What makes it different is one, we are not going to do the usual politics, which is the politics of big men,” he said.

When asked about being called a prominent politician, Mr Bugaje disagreed.

“Not at all. I just told you. Remember that I’m an Almajiri. I don’t see myself as a big man at all. And I don’t behave like one,” he said.

“Even when I was in government, I never had an ADC.”

Mr Bugaje said the SDP’s slogan “Farewell to Poverty” is inspired by the late Moshood Abiola’s 1993 presidential campaign and aims to create more opportunities for Nigerians.

He pointed out that poor power supply is a major problem for businesses and jobs.

“There are a number of ways. First, the major problem in all countries in the world is the lack of opportunity. People have no opportunity to work,” he said.

“Part of the major problem is, in this country, the energy that fires the industry, the small-scale industry, is not there.”

Mr Bugaje criticized the large spending on the power sector without better results in electricity supply.

He recalled that while he was in Parliament, Nigeria spent $13.5 billion on electricity by 2007 without any real increase in power generation.

“When I was in Parliament, by the time we finished 2007, we had already spent $13.5 billion on electricity, and that was not improving on a single watt of electricity,” he said.

“Ten years or so after, or 12 years after, they had spent up to $60 billion. There was no substantial or significant improvement in the amount of power generated.”

Recent SDP policy statements have also highlighted energy costs and low productivity as key issues for economic growth. At the unveiling of the party’s blueprint, Mr Bugaje said high energy costs affect transport, agriculture, and other sectors.

Mr Bugaje stated that an SDP government would cut down on government spending and reduce what he calls the “paraphernalia of politics.”

He said this would be part of his plans if he becomes vice president.

“We are going there to stop some of these paraphernalia of politics. It’s part of what we want to do, reducing the cost of governance,” he said.

“My security will be properly taken care of without all the terrible wasting that goes about it.”

Mr Bugaje said the SDP believes in social democracy and the principles in Chapter II of the Nigerian Constitution, which outlines the goals of government policy.

“This is one of the oldest parties and it has a certain content. We still need to build that content to represent the true social democracy,” he said.

“And that social democracy, by the way, are basically the ideas of Chapter 2 of the Constitution on the fundamental principles of directive state policy, which basically shows that governance is about people. It’s about improving the quality of life of people. It’s not about big men.”

He added that the party opposes a system where political elites control public resources.

“It’s not about the kind of big contracts where big men simply syphon the resources of the country and leave the poor high and dry,” he said.

Mr Bugaje also criticized the political culture of the ruling APC and other opposition parties, suggesting that politics is now all about personal gain and material wealth.

He said the SDP aims to focus on ideas while giving more attention to young people and women.

He connected the party’s agenda to the government's responsibility to ensure the security and welfare of Nigerians.