The question was ssked: Is your party ready to roll with the new Electoral Act The answer is: Yes, we are ready. The Social Democratic Party, SDP is ready for election and electioneering. We are ready to participate in democracy. We did under the military and, remember, we won the general election under the military. We, as social democrats, prevailed under the colonial masters, and prevailed under the military, we shall prevail in this dispensation.
The critical point is really not about digital registration or membership, and not the required time limit. Whatever the case, our party will meet all those technical requirements and will comply with the law without raising any dusts.
But, there are issues, significant issues. First, see the contradiction exhibited by our APC led Assembly and APC Government that will not allow eVoting, will not tolerate eTransmission of results and will allow only manual collation of results with stone-age Arithmetic using pencil and paper but will enact a law to enforce compulsory eRegistration and digital membership.
Let no one be deceived. This is not about creating level playing grounds or free and fair elections or making INEC truly independent. No, it is about inventing more and more intricacies and complications into the Electoral Law as booby traps for other political parties.
As a matter of fact, what we now have is that our National Assembly and our federal government instead fostering sustainable development to deepen democracy, and increase dividends, they are craftily planting booby traps for political parties that will put them at substantial conflicts with INEC. Our legislative and executive arms have devised cunning ways to put INEC at loggerheads with political parties placing the commission at much risk of breaking the repeated Supreme Court injuction of no interference in the internal affairs of political parties. Soon, we may start to see many unnecessary clashes and conflicts between the political parties and INEC.
However, this political cleverness of our leaders is poisonous and dangerous for our country. It is a deliberate method for our leaders to engender distractions for political parties to be chasing shadows and red herrings instead of how to fix health care issues, educational imbalance, economic underdevelopment, insecurities and so.
In the final, Social Democratic Party is on the march again. We are ready to work for democracy. We are ready to work for Nigeria. We hail Nigeria.
Dr Olu Agunloye,
National Secretary, SDP.
1 March 2026