The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has said that it pulled out of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) because the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as consensus candidate breached the provisions spelt out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the participating political parties.
The SDP National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Alfa Mohammed, stated this in a release issued on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said after an expanded caucus meeting held at the party national headquarters on December 10, 2018, the PDP displayed some form of arrogance by pressing on with its presidential candidate and appointing his running mate, the Director General of Campaign and all positions, thereby making the selection from any other platform impossible.
Mohammed, who said the MoU provided for agreement of all the political parties before any public endorsement, stated that it was envisaged that all the participating parties would meet to share offices and functions in a Government of National Unity (GNU).
He said it was obvious that the process was circumvented to achieve a predetermined end, stressing that the SDP will never collapse into any party as it is the choice of Nigerians in the 2019 elections.
He added that the SDP had, as a principled and self-respecting party with a clear vision and sense of mission, resolved to move on with its campaigns to commence the presentation of its presidential candidate, Donald Duke and his running-mate, Alh. Shehu Musa Gabam together with other candidates to Nigerians.
“The PDP’s approach towards consensus building has now subjected the move to a major setback due to the following breaches of trust and the provisions of the MoU.
“It is mainly PDP-driven. The PDP runs it as if others must shape in or ship out. The PDP runs timelines to suffocate other parties or to get to a point where events have already overtaken issues; like deadlines at INEC have run out.
“It is gladdening that some presidential candidates of some parties are already discussing concrete collaboration with us. The SDP will certainly welcome all those who believe in our philosophy, vision, mission and programmes for the Nigerian people,” he added.
He said the flag-off of the campaigns would commence in the South East geo-political zone next week.
