National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Olu Agunloye, says he has resigned his position and has become the acting national secretary of the party.

Mr Agunloye had earlier been sacked on March 28 by party executives in his native Ondo State over alleged anti-party activities. But he said his resignation was not prompted by the purported suspension but the need to strengthen the party’s chances of winning in the next general elections.

The former minister of power and steel conveyed his decision to reporters on Wednesday in Akure.

He said the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party met on March 22 and announced that all positions that are zoned to the South are now zoned to the North.

“So, there is no big deal about swapping in the party because the presidential aspirant is coming from the South,” said Mr Agunloye. “In fact one of the leading aspirants is coming from Ondo State.”

Mr Agunloye stressed that “It is not politically expedient to allow the presidential candidate to come from the South and the national chairman also from Ondo State, which is part of the South.”

Ondo State chapter in their suspension letter accused Mr Agunloye of bringing non-party members into the party to cause confusion and disturb the functions of the party executives at both state and local government levels.

The party stated that Agunloye was suspended from his ward (ward 10) in Akoko North-West Local Government area of the state, following a resolution of the ward executives.

But Mr Agunloye described his suspension as “mischievous and an action of some people that had no locus”, saying they were doing so “because he was making waves in Nigeria”.

“They are frustrated people and we will not provoke them the more, but if they take it away from political rascality to crime, we would curtail them,” he said. 

(NAN)