Adewole Adebayo: Joining SDP is like attending church — membership doesn’t guarantee leadership

Adewole Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2023, says a political party is a public institution like a church or a mosque where people are free to come.

Adebayo’s comments come days after Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, joined the SDP after resigning from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In an interview on Thursday, Adebayo said while people are free to worship in a mosque or church, their attendance does not elevate them to the position of authority.

“We cannot criticise people’s motives for coming. A political party is a public institution, like a church or a mosque,” he said.

“When somebody’s presence is marked in a mosque and wants to pray, you cannot say, where were you last night? Where have you been during your life? Let them pray.

“If you come to a church, you sit at the pew and you say you want to kneel and pray, the pastor cannot say, wait, I saw you at the nightclub last night. He has to allow you to pray.

“So, coming to the mosque to pray does not mean that you will be made the chief imam. Coming to the church to pray doesn’t mean you are going to be anointed as a bishop, but you are free to come because it’s a place that allows everyone to come.”

He cautioned against petty fights, ego clashes, and distractions among party members, adding that such action may open doors for opponents to exploit.

“If you want to get rid of an incumbent, you have to have discipline more than the incumbent,” Adebayo said.

If you come and start fighting silliness and any sort of seriousness, you are creating a gap that the ruling party would readily take advantage of, and you can’t blame them.

“So, this is the kind of orientation. When you come in, leave your ego at the door. Leave your ambition at the door. Leave all your problems at the door.

“There may be a member of our party who has a dispute with somebody like Tinubu or whatever. We don’t have a dispute with Tinubu.

“We have a dispute with their misgovernance. So, we want to focus on that. We don’t have an issue with anybody in person.”