Agunloye resigns as SDP national chairman to ‘respect zoning arrangement’

Olu Agunloye says he has resigned as the national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and is now the acting national secretary.

Agunloye said this on Wednesday in an interview with NAN.

He was recently suspended by the Ondo chapter of the SDP over alleged anti-party activities.

Agunloye, however, said his resignation was not due to his suspension, but to strengthen the party’s chances ahead of the 2023 general election.

He added that the national executive committee (NEC) of the party met on March 22 and announced that all positions that are zoned to the south are now zoned to the north.

“So, there is no big deal about swapping in the party because the presidential aspirant is coming from the south. In fact, one of the leading aspirants is coming from Ondo state,” he said.

“It is not politically expedient to allow the presidential candidate to come from the south and the national chairman also from Ondo state, which is part of the south.

“And for me, to do so without commotion is to resign my position as a national chairman of the party.

“As I am speaking to you, I’m sitting on my desk that I used when I was the acting national chairman but now, I’m the acting national secretary.”

Agunloye described his suspension as “mischievous and an action of some people that had no locus”, adding that those who suspended him did so “because he was making waves in Nigeria”.

“As at the time they claimed I have been suspended, I was presiding over a national working committee  meeting of the party,” he said.

“The suspension is just the action of some of the people that have no locus because if the party allows their suspension, nobody will be chairman anymore because some people can just sit down and suspend the national chairman.

“They are frustrated people and we will not provoke them the more, but if they take it away from political rascality to crime, we would curtail them.”