SDP Crisis Deepens: National Secretary Petitions IGP Over Forced Resignation

Olu Agunloye, the national secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has petitioned Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police, over an alleged plot to force him to resign, TheCable can report.

Sources told TheCable that members of the SDP loyal to Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state who just joined the party, are pushing for Agunloyeโ€™s resignation.

Agunloye confirmed filing the petition when contacted by TheCable on Tuesday.

โ€œI petitioned the IG about a person who forged letterhead paper and is threatening me to resign,โ€ Agunloye said.

On Monday, el-Rufai resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the SDP after months of strategic meetings with opposition party leaders.

El-Rufai, who served as governor of Kaduna state from 2015 to 2023, has been critical of President Bola Tinubuโ€™s administration, particularly since the senate declined to confirm him as minister.

In February, el-Rufai said Nigerians should not believe the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee, noting that Tinubu did not want him in his cabinet.

In a statement announcing his resignation from the APC, el-Rufai said he would work to unite opposition leaders against the APC.

โ€œWithout prejudice to this decision, as a member of the SDP, I will focus on engaging with and persuading other opposition leaders and parties to join us and congregate under a unified democratic platform to challenge the APC in all elections and bye-elections between now and 2027 by the Grace of God,โ€ he said.

โ€œI, therefore, call on all our supporters and other persons concerned about our countryโ€™s future to join us in the SDP in the journey towards making Nigeria flourish as a beacon of pride for Africans and the Black Race.โ€

On Tuesday, Adewole Adebayo, the SDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, celebrated el-Rufaiโ€™s defection to the party, describing the former Kaduna governor as an โ€œasset with a verifiable and measurable track record of public performanceโ€.

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