Peter Obi Has Been Interacting With SDP – Adebayo

Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has said the party would not be inviting former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to join the party.

Naija News reports that Adebayo said Obi knew about SDP and was in formal communication with the party in the past.

In an interview with News Central on Tuesday, the SDP chieftains stated that the former Anambra Governor had defected to different parties in his political career and knew when he would leave his current party.

“Peter Obi knows about SDP very well, and it’s up to him to know whether he wants to come in there or not. We only reach out to people who don’t know about the party. So Peter Obi knows very well about the party. He’s been interacting with the party in the past. So he knows the party very well. He’s not a new person to the party. So it’s up to him now, looking at where he wants to be, to decide which place he wants to go. I believe he still belongs to his Labour Party. So it’s up to him if he wants to remain there, wants to go elsewhere. You cannot teach Peter Obi on how to change parties. He is an expert in that area. So when time comes for him, if he comes to the SDP, I believe that the party will work on him. If he goes elsewhere, we will not be bothered. But if he remains where he is, we also wish him right. So it’s not really a problem,” he said.

The former presidential candidate said the party would welcome any politician, like they welcome the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. He dismissed claims that the influx of big political wigs into the party could threaten his presidential ambition.

“What we are dealing with here is forming a formidable political platform, the SDP, talking to everyone who says they are not satisfied with the status quo, asking them to come and see our plan, to bring everybody together, and to look at our manifesto and compare it to the situation that Nigerians are facing. And, anyway, somebody becomes our member, they will take cognizance of what they might be willing to, what their ambition might be.

“If someone is in his own political party, outside our party, it is irresponsible to comment about the person. He’s not a member of our party. He’s not talking to us. He has his own aspiration. So, why should we now leave our own members and be talking and speculating about other people outside the party? Prior to yesterday, I will not speak publicly about El-Rufai’s ambition or not. But since he is our member now, then I can talk about him. So, if any other person becomes our member, we will also give that person proper representation if the public is misunderstanding with the person,” he stated.