The former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has said he would not step down for Nasir El-Rufai if he declares his intention to be the presidential candidate of the party.
Naija News reports that Adebayo said the former Governor of Kaduna State did not discuss any presidential ambition with the party.
In an interview with News Central on Tuesday, the former presidential candidate explained that if El-Rufai declares his intention, he would have to defeat him. He added that his interest to run again in 2027 remained intact.
He, however, stated that the party would welcome all politicians who have presidential ambitions and give them a fair chance.
His words: “He knows that even somebody living under the rock knows that I ran in 2023 and I’m going to run again and El-Rufai knows that. So that’s not an issue. But the key issue is that he has joined the party. We’ll be having conversation with him. El-Rufai is not shy. If he’s coming to run, he will tell you. If he’s not running, he will tell you. What he’s been discussing with us has not even gone to that direction at all.
“Well, first of all, El-Rufai is a Nigerian like myself. He has a right to aspire to leadership. And it’s just that if he wants to be president, he has to defeat me first. Then he becomes president. If he’s interested in being president, I have to defeat him first to be president. So you cannot be president without defeating people.
“So that anybody who wants to be president on the basis of other people not wanting to be president is not a serious person. So if you, if there are other people, there are people who obviously have said they want to run for president. I’m talking to them. I’m saying come to SDP, we’ll give you a fair chance.”
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