SDP Sets Sights On 2027 As Cross River Delegates Shine At Bauchi Convention

By Nton Nton—

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) wound up its national convention on 9 May 2026 in Bauchi State, electing a fresh National Working Committee and laying out a clear electoral strategy for the 2027 general election.

Delegates from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory gathered at the venue, signalling the party’s determination to build a broad, united front around social justice, agricultural revival, and people-centred governance.

Newly elected National Chairman Professor Sadiq Gombe struck a disciplined note from the outset, framing his mandate as a responsibility and promising transparency and strict adherence to the party’s constitution.

Presidential flagbearer Adewole Adebayo, who again secured the SDP ticket for 2027, painted a stark picture of the economic hardships confronting ordinary Nigerians – families without food, children out of school, the sick without healthcare, and citizens driven abroad by desperation.

Cross River State’s SDP executive made a notable impact on the convention floor. State Chairman Comrade Fidelis Akpanke seconded Motion Number 6, formally ratifying the new appointments.

“I, Comrade Fidelis Akpanke, SDP Chairman, Cross River State, with SDP membership registration number 0140050001, do hereby second the motion,” he declared – a moment captured on video and shared on the official Facebook account of the party’s Cross River publicity secretary.

Convention Committee Chairman Usman Bugaje delivered one of the most powerful addresses of the event, cataloguing a litany of national challenges: insecurity, crippling fuel prices, crumbling infrastructure, unemployment, and deepening poverty.

He levelled serious accusations against the ruling party, alleging it had compromised both the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission to shrink democratic space, and urged delegates to remain resolute.

National Secretary Olu Agunloye highlighted the party’s resilience, declaring that the SDP had repelled attempts by “self-serving politicians” to hijack its internal structures, backed by four years of reform and legal victories against INEC.

Reminding delegates that the SDP is Nigeria’s second-oldest surviving political party, he vowed that every position on the 2027 ballot would be contested.

Voices from the Cross River delegation urged party faithful to carry the SDP’s message to every ward and community, describing the party as “the only pure political party not interested in recycling politicians who do not have the country’s heart”.

Publicity Secretary Comrade Bassey Nton Nton, in a telephone interview, called on Cross River citizens and Nigerians at large to register with the SDP ahead of 2027.

As delegates departed Bauchi, a unifying message resonated: this movement extends beyond a single election cycle. The convention theme – “Building a People’s Coalition to Secure Our Homeland and Defeat Poverty” – underscored the party’s vision of agricultural revival as the true engine of national development.

For the Cross River delegation, the call to action was embraced wholeheartedly, with a collective pledge to take the SDP’s message from the convention hall to the grassroots, community by community, ward by ward.