The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Oyo State has replaced its governorship candidate for the 2027 election, saying the party’s ticket is not available for political negotiation.
At a substitution plenary held in Ibadan on Tuesday, the party ratified the replacement of Mr Michael Okunlade with Mogaji Olusegun Agboola as its governorship candidate.
The party also charged Agboola to unite its members, strengthen its structures and mobilise support across the 33 local government areas of the state ahead of the election.
Speaking with journalists after his emergence, Agboola said the SDP was not seeking political bargaining but was determined to win the governorship election and provide what he described as a new approach to governance.
He said the party would move away from what he called ‘pedestrian thinking’ and embrace a system-based approach to governance.
Agboola said, ‘The last time we declared our intent, we said pedestrian thinking has to stop and system-based thinking should now be the case. We should stop business as usual and bring new ideas to the table.’
He said his administration, if elected, would focus on developing the people and creating systems that would convert their skills, abilities and resources into sustainable economic opportunities.
According to him, Oyo State must move beyond conventional approaches to governance and develop policies that would empower its people to contribute more meaningfully to the state’s economy.
The SDP candidate also ruled out any possibility of using the party’s governorship ticket for political bargaining ahead of the 2027 election.
He said, ‘The SDP is here to stay and our intention is to take over this state, especially as we see the crop of candidates in all the other parties, whom we all know their antecedents.
‘We are here to go to the State House in our own goodness. There’s no negotiation on the table as far as we are concerned.’
Agboola also expressed readiness to debate other governorship candidates on their policy proposals, saying the SDP was prepared to subject its ideas and plans for the state to public scrutiny.
On possible reconciliation with aggrieved members, he promised an open-door policy, urging those who had left or were dissatisfied with developments in the party to return.
‘Anyone that is aggrieved out there, the door is open. Come back home. SDP is the home of true democrats, true progressives,’ he said.
Earlier, Okunlade, whose name was replaced on the party’s governorship ticket, congratulated Agboola, describing his emergence as an important development in the party’s preparations for the 2027 election.
He commended party members for their peaceful conduct during the substitution process and appreciated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for monitoring the exercise.
Okunlade said the party’s immediate task was to strengthen its presence across the 33 local government areas and wards of the state.
He urged the new candidate to remain committed to the party and work with its members towards securing victory in the 2027 election.
‘We want victory, not negotiation. We want commitment, not abandonment. We want unity, not division,’ Okunlade said.
He cautioned against a situation where candidates use a political party’s platform to contest elections and later distance themselves from its structures and members.
According to him, candidates must remain committed to the party and its structures, stressing that unity, commitment and effective grassroots mobilisation would be critical to the SDP’s chances in 2027.
Okunlade also responded to allegations raised by another governorship aspirant, Chief Saheed Oladele, over the substitution process and his integrity.
He warned that he would seek legal redress if statements made against him amounted to defamation, while urging party members to accept the outcome of the democratic process.
He advised members and aspirants with grievances to pursue them through appropriate democratic and legal channels instead of allowing internal disagreements to weaken the party ahead of the 2027 election.
The party leadership subsequently tasked Agboola with consolidating its structures, reconciling aggrieved members and taking the SDP’s campaign message to communities across the state.