Abiodun Bamigboye, also known as Abbey Trotsky, the chairman of the Socialist Party of Nigeria, has described the manifesto of the African Action Congress’s presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, as progressive. Abiodun, the former SPN governorship candidate in Oyo State, stated this during the DSM Conference on February 18, 2023.
He stated, “A ray of hope would emerge from the midst of despair. Omoyele Sowore, according to the Democratic Socialist Movement, is a ray of hope from the Nigerian working class in the upcoming election. Further, he stated that when comparing Sowore’s 2019 program to that of 2023, there has been a change that suits the socialist movement’s tastes.
“AAC manifesto is a political party that has declared and described itself as an anti-imperialist party among the 18 political parties that will be on the ballot for election. I’m not sure if any other political party has come close.” Every candidate must insist that Nigerians have the democratic right to be educated critically “He stated.
“Sowore’s programs are progressive programs that every right-thinking socialist and Marxist must support,” he said, noting that Sowore’s manifesto is progressive and should be supported.
“All of the candidates have kept a criminal silence about the current electricity crisis.
“Sowore is the only candidate who has stated that if elected president of Nigeria, he will correct the anomalies that exist in terms of the electricity crisis. He has stated that he intends to reverse the privatization of the power sector.”
Comrade Bamigboye (Trotsky) maintained that the problem with the power sector is not overcentralisation, but rather a lack of democracy in its management and control.
That, he claims, explains the demise of NITEL and the old NEPA.
Most of the people on the boards were said to be political appointees of the government of the day, and thus they were not accountable to the people.
“”The fact that Sowore has come to say that he is reversing that privatization and that he is going to investigate the process that leads to that privatization is a progressive decision that we at DSM feel we should identify with,” he said.
He quoted the AAC presidential candidate as saying “ethnic groups who feel they don’t want to be part of Nigeria should be accorded the right to go”.
“The right to self-determination would be respected up to the point of secession. He also acknowledged that the majority of those calling for separation felt cheated and that their cause had been undermined “He stated.
“All agitations for secession will die naturally if Nigeria today provides jobs for all youth and makes education free and affordable for all Nigerians.”
He stated that it was on the basis of all of this that the SPN/DSM decided to support Sowore after a lengthy debate.
“We hereby call on people to vote for Sowore because we know that a vote for Sowore will open up an avenue to begin conversation as to what socialism is and how to bring about a socialist government in Nigeria.
“We know that a vote for Sowore will open up a room for working relationships so as to begin to establish a platform to resist all the difficulties that are facing us as a nation. Collective efforts are required to accomplish this.”