In a sudden turn of fortune, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is blowing hot, warning the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, against persecuting its members, including the former governor of the state, Nasir el-Rufai.
This is a dramatic shift from years of existence as one of the ‘mushroom’ political parties in the country. The positive turn of events follows defectors the party is receiving, including el-Rufai and his appointees.
The party is also taking part in serious coalition talks with the big two in the opposition—the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party.
Following its renewed popularity, the party on Friday issued a strongly worded statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ambassador Rufus Aiyenigba, against the mistreatment of its members, accusing Uba Sani of hounding them for defecting from the governor’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The statement, which is widely being shared by Sani’s predecessor, Nasir el-Rufai, who referred to the SDP as “our party,” said it wishes to bring to the attention of all Nigerians that the party has been informed about plans to suppress opposition figures to instil fear in political circles.
The party says this strategy aims to deter further defections to “our party by using intimidation tactics.”
It comes as el-Rufai defected last Monday to the SDP from the APC, laying the groundwork for his commissioners and other top appointees to leave the APC to the SDP. Some of those who have defected have allegedly been arrested, according to el-Rufai.
However, the SDP said it has received reliable information indicating that the APC is “concerned about the mounting momentum of our party. In response, the APC has decided to leverage its governmental control to fabricate criminal charges against our members.”
The party notes that “our sources reveal that the persecution will commence with one of our prominent leaders, Malam Nasir El-Rufai. The government is planning to file multiple charges against him in Abuja and Kaduna imminently.
“In preparation for this, we have also learnt that the Federal Government has instructed its agencies to prevent Malam Nasir El-Rufai from leaving the country,” the party alleges.
It says in Kaduna, the state government appears to be following the federal strategy of targeting opposition leaders.
The administration under Uba Sani, the party says, has reportedly “abducted one of our state leaders, Ja’afaru Sani, utilising the police unit Operation Fushin Kada.
“This unit, which is supposed to protect citizens and their freedoms, has been misused to oppress political opponents.
“Ja’afaru Sani has been taken before a magistrate, where the state government went to procure an order to remand him in prison,” the party says in the statement.
It emphasises that “as was done to Bashir Saidu on December 31, 2024, Ja’afaru Sani was remanded by the magistrate for alleged money laundering.
“This is a matter that is not within the jurisdiction of either a state court or the Nigeria Police. When the gimmick was rolled out in December 2024, it unfolded with a Kaduna magistrate remanding Bashir Saidu in prison till 21 January 2025 on similar charges.
“It was the precursor to Bashir Saidu spending 50 days in prison. Such is the naked attempt to deploy the police and the judiciary to detain and imprison our leaders in Kaduna.”
The SDP says it is profoundly dismayed by these flagrant and undemocratic methods in a democracy that should be advancing after 25 years of sustained efforts.
Democratic norms, it argues, dictate that a sitting government should respond to the growing momentum of opposition through a contest of ideas and improved performance, not through cowardly persecution that is characteristic of tyrannical regimes.
The party says it is imperative to note that the APC occupies office today because its leaders were not targeted during their years in opposition.
It stresses that if former governments had resorted to imprisoning them and burdening them with multiple charges across various courts, the APC would not be in its current position.
The SDP therefore calls on all Nigerians to stand against these undemocratic practices and advocate for a mature democratic process where political disagreements are resolved through dialogue and performance, not through oppression and intimidation.
It emphasises that even in the USA, an advanced democratic nation, “President Donald Trump was severally and severely persecuted and vilified by the political establishment, but all that did not diminish him nor detract from his popularity. He weathered the storm and got re-elected to power.
“The ongoing victimisation of the SDP and its members by the authorities amounts to nothing more than enhancing and boosting the public rating of the party as the bastion of true hope for national retrieval and better lives for Nigerians, going forward,” the party concludes.