•Gabam and Tinubu
The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Gabam, says the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu may be his greatest undoing if he tries to be reelected in 2027.
Gabam listed some of the unpopular policies of the Tinubu administration including the sudden removal of petrol subsidy, unification of forex rates, electricity tariff hike, and telecoms tariff hike, amongst others.
“He (Tinubu) needs to review some of his policies, he needs to rejig his cabinet if he wants to leave a legacy by two years. And I don’t see him surviving another election with the same kind of policies going on,” Gabam said on Channels Television last night.
The SDP boss said with less than two years in office, the demonstrations against the Tinubu government were akin to those against the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012.
“Protests against Jonathan started two years (into his administration), and he couldn’t survive it. And there will be no president in history who has spent money to be reelected in the history of Nigeria like President Jonathan. So, if people are thinking that they will use money, they are mistaken. You will only rig while you are popular,” he said.
The SDP chair flayed the Tinubu government over its “hostilities” with opposition voices, saying the administration should make moves to amend the constitution for Nigeria to be a one-party state.
He said, “Nobody can talk to a governor, he will abuse you, he’s an emperor, you dare not talk to him, you dare not advise him. The same thing applies to the current government. The moment you advise them, they see you as an enemy.
“They forget that some of the political parties stood by INEC at the point of announcing the election (results) because we don’t want anarchy to ensue.”
SDP Not Bankrolled By APC — Chair
Gabam also denied claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) pays political parties N50m bribe, saying that will compromise the watchdog role of the opposition.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had last week said the APC government paid opposition parties N50m bribe to weaken their leadership ahead of the next election. Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the allegation at a national conference on strengthening democracy last week.
Reacting, the SDP chair said, “It’s not true. For me as SDP, I cannot speak for other political parties. There is no single transaction between SDP, the federal government or agent of the federal government or representatives of the federal government. There is none. Never.
“We are not designed to compromise institutions; we are trying to build institutions. The moment you compromise institutions, you won’t have the audacity to speak because your conscience has been compromised and you have compromised that institution.
“If the government does not want opposition, they can as well amend the constitution so that we can have a one-party system.”
