Ex-presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Adebayo Adewole, has expressed optimism that his party would unseat President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027.

“Tinubu will be removed from power; that is sure. And there will be an SDP president,” said Mr Adewole in an interview on Arise TV on Friday.

The politician’s optimism was on the heels of the defection of Nasir El-Rufai, an erstwhile APC member, to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who attributed his action to the ruling party’s abandonment of its founding principles.

Mr Adewole, who acknowledged Mr El-Rufai’s political intelligence, noted that the SDP had learnt from other major political parties in the country, adding that his party would not be allowed to be divided.

He added that they knew when all of them were combining forces and going to Chatham House that they would not last.

He stated, “We knew when they started sharing the spoils of office that they would all scatter; we knew that the programmes all of them had would not benefit Nigerians. So we started preparing and managing our party. There is no crisis. When they offered them positions, we didn’t go to them. Many more will join us as the year goes by. It is like that. If you are consistent and focus on what you are doing, those who believe they are experts would come to you when their house fails.”

Asked whether he would be sidelined by the defectors joining his party, the ex-presidential candidate said, “Let us see; any coward who is feeling threatened by people coming to his party cannot be president. We have learnt from the mistakes of the PDP and APC and will not allow our party to become divided.”

Following his defection from the ruling APC, Mr El-Rufai sought alliances with other opposition figures in the country to dislodge Mr Tinubu and his party in 2027.