Social Democratic Party

The Social Democratic Party of Nigeria (SDP) is a centre-left political party in Nigeria. It was created alongside the National Republican Convention by former military president Ibrahim Babangida, as part of a democracy project meant to form two detribalized political parties – one slightly to the left and one to the right. During the Nigerian Third Republic it was seen as a moderate party attractive to young radical intellectuals and socialists. In its manifesto, it called for concerted efforts to improve welfare and fight for social justice. Structure After 13 prospective parties were banned by the administration of Ibrahim Babangida in 1989, some of the associations decided to re-align. The People's Front of Nigeria, People's Solidarity Party, and the Nigerian Labor Party emerged to form the core constituency of the new SDP. The leadership was mostly dominated by Northern Nigerians. Babagana Kingibe was elected party chairman in 1990 over his rival Mohammed Arzika. Despite the dominance of Northern Nigerians, the party's strength lay in the Igbo people in the states of Imo and Anambra. The party won 57% of Senate seats and 53% of House of Representatives seats in the 1992 National Assembly election. The party was primarily financed by the Federal Government and individuals such as Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Francis Nzeribe and M.K.O. Abiola. In its first presidential primary, Yar'Adua collected about 480,000 votes, dominating his primary opponent, Olu Falae in the first round. Those elections were then canceled by Babangida. In the second primary election under an adopted system called Option A4, another financier, Abiola (a former member of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons and once a state chairman of the National Party of Nigeria), won the primary in March 1993. Abiola then contested the national election, which was also annulled by Babangida.