Olu Agunsoye, the National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has claimed loyalists of Peter Obi, a former Labour Party presidential flag-bearer, have begun to lobby his party to prepare the ground for a possible defection.

Agunsoye’s claim comes amid ongoing political permutations and realignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The top actors are currently shopping for special-purpose vehicles among the existing 19 political parties, excluding the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The idea of a mega opposition coalition has been floated several times and remains under consideration. However, it has failed to gather serious traction since former Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasiru El-Rufai’s defection to the SDP.

Speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television on Friday, March 21, 2025, Agunsoye disclosed that the SDP has already attracted the interest of eight presidential aspirants.

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“We have eight presidential aspirants; it could be 10. Seven of them are on our platform,” he stated.

The SDP chieftain didn’t mention the names of the presidential aspirants but said his party can’t afford to lose any of the interested political heavyweights to other parties.

Obi’s men lobbying the SDP

The SDP National Secretary also disclosed that lobbyists claiming to be working for Obi, who has yet to declare his intention to join the party officially, have been working to facilitate his defection.

“Obi’s people came to us to say if Obi comes, would you take him? Of course, we told them: ‘Yes’. I was in that meeting. Some of them are with us saying that they are preparing the ground but you have to join SDP. You cannot be in the Labour Party and be telling us Obi is coming without joining us otherwise we can’t open our doors for you.

“But Obi may have no plan to come or he may want to come. People do all of this but where we stand is that we must do well in our platform,” Agunsoye said.

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The revelation comes after possible inter-party alliance talks reached a climax on Thursday, March 20, 2025, when opposition arrowhead Atiku Abubakar, alongside Obi and El-Rufai, amongst others, announced a coalition to oust President Bola Tinubu’s APC.

Constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District may have begun recalling Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as signature collection reportedly started in some areas of the district.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Wednesday in Lokoja that constituents gathered at various signature collection points across the five local government areas comprising the senatorial district.

Some of the locations visited include Ajaokuta, Adavi, Okene, Lokoja, and Okehi Local Government Areas, where residents were seen participating in the signature drive.

One collection point was the Ihima community in Okehi LGA, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s hometown, where people were observed queuing for the recall exercise.

Abdullahi Usman, a resident of Ihima, told NAN that he joined the process willingly, saying they had lost confidence in Akpoti-Uduaghan’s representation.

“You can see the queue of people dissatisfied with her National Assembly performance, especially following the recent scandal in the Senate chamber.

“We are sending a message to the world that we no longer trust her representation. Her actions have brought shame to us internationally,” Usman stated.

At the Ajaokuta collection point, Hajia Rabi Mohammed said, “We want her to return home, so we can elect someone with a good reputation.”

Samuel Adamu, from Lokoja Metropolis, stated that the recall process began on Wednesday and would last two days across all polling units in the five LGAs.

“We believe that by Friday, March 21, we’ll conclude collecting the signatures needed to file the petition for her recall,” Adamu explained.

He added, “This recall process is taken seriously. We tried to engage her repeatedly without success,” highlighting the community’s frustrations.

In response, Abdulrahman Badamasiuyi, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, described the recall effort as a sham and baseless.

Badamasiuyi urged constituents to ignore the planned verification exercise aimed at recalling Akpoti-Uduaghan from the National Assembly.

“We want the Senate, Nigerians, and the world to know we stand firmly with Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against her illegal suspension.

“She remains the one in whom we entrusted our mandate, and no one has the right to violate our democratic and constitutional choices.

“We hereby notify the Senate, Nigerians, and the world that Akpoti-Uduaghan retains our unwavering mandate to serve until May 2027,” he said.

Sule Lamido, a former Jigawa State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain has turned the call by ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El-Rufai for opposition leaders to join forces with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) ahead of 2027 general elections.

Lamido made this known in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Sunday, March 16, 2025, dismissing El-Rufai’s invitation as an insult.

His reaction follows a recent call by the former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, who called on key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to join him in his new party.

Recall that EL-Rufai, who announced his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, March 17, 205, made the call in an earlier interview with BBC Hausa.

“My wishes and prayers are for Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf, and all opposition leaders to come and join SDP, not to do a merger or to register a new political party,” he said.

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Lamido slams El-Rufai

In his response, Lamido reminded El-Rufai that the PDP, which he helped build, laid the foundation for the former Kaduna Governor’s political career.

“The party we formed, the PDP, is the one that gave birth to El-Rufai.

“You’re not enough to make us leave the PDP,” Lamido said, adding, “He once said that there are no adults in Nigeria in politics, but now he is calling on us to join him in the SDP.”

The former Jigawa Governor further probed El-Rufai’s motives for defecting from the APC to the SDP, pointing out alleged flaws in his claim regarding former President Muhammadu Buhari‘s purported endorsement of the move.

“He said he told President Buhari about his decision to leave the APC, but now he is saying that he is one of the adults in Nigerian politics,” he stated.

Lamido stressed that the PDP had not done anything to force him out of the party, reaffirming his long-standing loyalty by saying, “If I was going to leave the PDP, I would have done so in 2014 when the APC was formed.”

The PDP chieftain slammed El-Rufai’s leadership style, saying leadership is not about anger or selfish ambition.

ALSO READ: Drop coalition talks; come and join SDP – El-Rufai tells Atiku, Obi, Aregbesola

“Leadership is done with patience and vision, and doing things for the peace of the followers and the country as a whole,” he noted.

Lamido counselled the former FCT minister to prioritise patriotism instead of showing anger towards others, saying, “What should be done is to put patriotism first, instead of showing anger towards someone.”