The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Oyo State has changed its governorship candidate for the 2027 election, declaring that its ticket is not open to political negotiation as it intensified efforts to challenge the established political parties for control of the state.
At its substitution plenary held in Ibadan on Tuesday, the party ratified the substitution of Mr Michael Okunlade with Mogaji Olusegun Agboola as its governorship candidate for the 2027 election, while charging the new standard-bearer to unite members, strengthen the party’s structures and take its message to all 33 local government areas of the state.
The development marked a fresh phase in the SDP’s preparations for the 2027 governorship contest, with the party leadership insisting that its objective is not merely to participate in the election but to build the political strength required to win power.
Speaking with journalists after his emergence, Agboola said the SDP was not in the race for political bargaining but was determined to win the governorship election and introduce a new approach to governance in the state.
He said the party would replace what he described as “pedestrian thinking” with system-based thinking, stressing that Oyo State could no longer continue with conventional approaches to governance in a rapidly changing world.
“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,” Agboola said.
The SDP candidate said his administration, if elected, would prioritise the development of the people and establish systems capable of transforming the state’s human and material resources into sustainable economic opportunities.
He argued that Oyo State could no longer afford to remain primarily a resource centre for others, stressing the need for policies that would empower residents to acquire relevant skills and contribute meaningfully to the state’s economic development.
Agboola said his vision was to build systems that would enable the people to translate their skills, abilities and available resources into sustainable economic opportunities, rather than relying on conventional approaches to governance.
He also dismissed suggestions that the SDP’s governorship ticket could become an instrument of political negotiation or bargaining ahead of the 2027 election.
“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,” he said.
Agboola further declared his readiness to publicly engage other governorship contenders in a debate on their policy proposals, signalling the SDP’s willingness to subject its ideas and proposed solutions to public scrutiny.
On efforts to reconcile members who may have become aggrieved over developments within the party, Agboola said his leadership would operate an open-door policy and urged dissatisfied members to return to the party.
Vanguard
