Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi, the first woman to declare interest in the 2023 presidency has lost the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential ticket to Adewole Adebayo, founder of KAFTAN Television.
Gatekeepers News reports that Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi who is the daughter of former Federal Works Commissioner, Lateef Olufemi Okunnu was only able to poll 83 votes, while Adebayo who emerged as the winner got 1,526 votes at the party’s presidential primary.
Umar Ardo, the returning officer for the election, announced Adebayo as the winner of the contest held on Wednesday in Abuja.
In reaction to his victory, Adebayo said the party will work to raise the standard of living of Nigerians if it wins the 2023 presidential election.
“We will campaign to every household, every polling unit, every ward, every local government, every state, every zone, and the entire country,” he said.
“We will come out and show to Nigerians that food, water, electricity, housing, education, and medical care are not prayer points.”
The SDP is embroiled in a leadership crisis, with two groups competing for control of the party, which has turned into a legal battle.
The two factions are the Supo Shonibare faction which claims to be the “authentic leadership” of the party and the Shehu Gabam-led faction which is recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In May, Ebenezer Ikeyina, former lawmaker representing Anambra Central in the Senate, won the SDP presidential primary election organised by the Shonibare-led faction.
