SDP dumps Donald Duke, adopts Buhari as consensus candidate

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has adopted President Muhammadu Buhari as its consensus candidate for the February 16 presidential election.

The party made the decision on Thursday during its national executive council meeting in Abuja.

Buhari is the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

SDP NEC, however, explained that the adoption does not herald a merger with the APC.

Prior to the development, Donald Duke, former governor of Cross River, was the flagbearer of the SDP.

Duke was declared the presidential candidate of the party in January following a ruling by the court of appeal in Abuja which set aside the judgment of an Abuja high court declaring Jerry Gana, former information minister, as the party’s presidential flagbearer.

Donlad Duke left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2018 to pursue his presidential ambitions on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Moshood “MKO” Abiola won the 1993 presidential election on the platform of the SDP. He was recently honoured with the first-ever posthumous GCFR in Nigeria history in 2018.

This was done by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) had also in January, endorsed Buhari’s re-election.

The party made the move after Oby Ezekwesili, its presidential candidate, withdrew from the race.