The Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in the 2023 Kwara State election, Hakeem Lawal, has explained that his decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) was driven by what he described as systematic exclusion of his political structure from the party’s internal processes.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on Sobi FM Lawal said he defected from the APC after the party leadership denied his supporters the opportunity to register and revalidate their membership ahead of the 2023 elections.
“I left APC for SDP because the party leadership denied my followers the chance to register or revalidate their membership.
“Had we not been denied that opportunity, I wouldn’t have contested the 2023 governorship election against a sitting governor,” Lawal said.
The former APC chieftain traced the roots of his defection to what he described as a recurring pattern of imposition and internal injustice within the ruling party.
According to him, the experience of the 2019 election cycle foreshadowed the events that eventually led to his exit three years later.
“There was no primary election in 2019. A candidate was imposed on us, yet we all agreed to work for his success,” he said.
Lawal argued that the failure to address internal grievances within the APC made it impossible for him and his political base to remain in the party.
Lawal insisted that his decision to contest the 2023 governorship election on the platform of the SDP was not driven by ambition alone but by necessity.
“If my supporters had been allowed to revalidate their membership in APC, I would not have contested the election. We were pushed out,” he said.
He also dismissed allegations that he worked against the SDP during the election, describing such claims as falsehoods spread by disgruntled party members.
“It is a lie that I told my followers to vote for another party. There is no evidence against me,” he added.
The SDP candidate revealed that he rejected several attempts to lure him into political alliances shortly before the governorship election.
“Two weeks before the election, I was invited to a meeting to work with PDP, which I refused. Another meeting later resolved that we should support APC, and I declined as well. I remained committed to my candidacy to the end,” Lawal said.
He noted that internal divisions in the SDP arose after some stakeholders opted to work for other parties while still expecting mobilisation funds from him.
“Some collected money from PDP, some aligned with APC, and some stayed with me. Yet those who chose other parties expected SDP mobilisation funds. I refused,” he said.
Lawal urged political actors to embrace fairness and restraint, warning that destructive politics often undermines long-term development.
“Life is turn by turn. When there is no love, instead of consolidation, you see fragmentation,” he said.
Sobi FM
