2027 Election: Four Years Enough to Transform Nigeria, SDP’s Adebayo Says

• Explains how he will slash fuel price to N200 per Litre •Gombe: SDP’ll defeat insecurity, build productive economy •Nigeria’s problem is leadership, not citizens, Bugaje stresses Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the 2027 general elections, Adewole Adebayo, yesterday challenged Nigerians to reject what he described as the country’s “politics of comedy and clowning”, declaring that four years is enough for a determined leader to transform the nation. Adebayo, who spoke in Abuja at the unveiling of his 2027–2031 presidential policy document titled “Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity,” said Nigeria’s problems were largely man-made and could be resolved through purposeful leadership, competent governance and policies anchored on productivity. He also challenged President Bola Tinubu to a public debate, asking him to account for the administration’s performance since assuming office. The SDP candidate said the country could no longer afford to wait for leaders who, in his assessment, had failed to provide clear solutions to worsening insecurity, economic hardship, unemployment and infrastructure deficits. “Four years is enough for a determined leader to help his people,” Adebayo declared, stressing that his administration would use its first term to fundamentally change the country’s economic and security fortunes. According to him, the SDP manifesto was not merely a collection of campaign promises but a policy blueprint designed to provide Nigerians with a roadmap out of poverty and insecurity. He said, “We are trying to tell Nigerians that we are beyond sloganeering. We are saying to you: here is our farewell to poverty and insecurity. “We have submitted our thesis to Nigerians. Mark us. Evaluate us. Contradict us.” Adebayo said the manifesto was deliberately presented as an open document to allow Nigerians to interrogate, improve and contribute to its proposals. He said the party’s approach was anchored on the conviction that Nigeria’s problems could not be solved by rhetoric, tribalism or ethnic politics, but through “competing ideas”. The presidential candidate also took aim at the Tinubu administration, challenging the President to explain the use of government resources and the benefits Nigerians had derived from the removal of fuel subsidy. He said, “The first challenge is thrown to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: come out of hiding. Come and debate. Anyone who wants to keep his job should be able to answer his bosses. Where have you been in the past four years? What have you been doing? Where is the money? “Where is the money you saved from subsidies that never existed? Where are the trillions for security? Where is the CNG? Where is the electricity?” Adebayo further criticised the nation’s monetary management, accusing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of failing to adequately protect the naira, stimulate productivity and create employment. “The Central Bank of Nigeria is not protecting our currency. It is not creating productivity and employment. It has become a warehouse for thieves. We must kick the thieves out of the team,” he said. He also accused those in government of mismanaging the nation’s resources, alleging that revenue from petroleum, solid minerals and taxes was being “stolen in broad daylight”. The SDP candidate promised that an administration led by him would tackle insecurity through a combination of political, economic and social measures, rather than relying solely on military force. He said the first step towards defeating insecurity would be to change the government, arguing that what he described as government failure was responsible for a substantial proportion of the insecurity confronting the country. “Since the majority of insecurity is caused by government failure, when you use your vote in 2027 to change the government, you have already gone 60 per cent of the way towards chasing away the bandits,” he said. He also promised to unite Nigerians and tackle what he called “internal colonialism”, which he said had encouraged Nigerians to fight one another along ethnic, religious and regional lines. On the economy, Adebayo promised a massive expansion of electricity generation, saying his administration would target 75,000 megawatts of electricity using Nigeria’s own resources. He also promised to establish four functioning public refineries and 36 modular refineries, while creating an enabling environment for private investors to establish refineries and export petroleum products. He said the SDP would also review the pricing of petrol, arguing that Nigerians should not be subjected to international fuel prices without earning internationally competitive wages. “That is why we calculated it and concluded that N200, at the current rate, is the price at which petrol can be sold without pushing the people further into poverty,” he said. Adebayo said the manifesto would focus on human development, the dignity of citizenship and affordable infrastructure that could be funded from the country’s resources. He said Nigeria’s deteriorating standard of living was reflected in the declining purchasing power of workers, recalling that previous generations of Nigerians had been able to build houses and educate their children on significantly lower incomes. “We are 26 years late. We need to be in government now,” he said. The SDP candidate urged Nigerians to scrutinise the manifesto and challenge the party to defend its proposals. “Today is to challenge you to read this and make it better. The only way it will cease to be just an idea or a piece of paper is for us to be in government,” he said. Earlier, the National Chairman of the SDP, Prof. Sadiq Gombe, said the manifesto was anchored on three fundamental pillars, including security, productivity and prosperity, which he described as inseparable. He said the party would prioritise the security of lives and property while simultaneously addressing the economic and social conditions that fuel crime and extremism. According to him, the SDP would strengthen the armed forces, police, intelligence institutions, border control and justice system while adopting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies to combat insecurity. Gombe said the party’s economic philosophy was based on self-reliance, productive employment, poverty reduction, balanced regional development and social inclusion. “We do not believe that poverty should be managed in Nigeria. We believe poverty must be eliminated through production, employment, opportunity and responsible social protection,” he said. The SDP chairman also stressed the importance of accountability, saying Nigerians must be able to demand answers from those entrusted with public office. “Accountability is not an inconvenience to governance. Accountability is governance itself,” he declared. He said the party’s objective was to build a Nigeria where farmers could cultivate their land without fear, traders could move goods safely, businesses could invest with confidence and citizens could live, work, worship and travel without fear. On his part, the SDP vice-presidential candidate, Dr. Usman Bugaje, said the unveiling of the manifesto was driven by the party’s conviction that Nigeria’s fundamental problem was leadership, not a lack of capable citizens. Bugaje said Nigerians in the diaspora had demonstrated exceptional capacity in different professional fields, showing that the country’s challenges were not caused by a lack of talent. He said, “If you look at Nigerians in the diaspora, they are doing very well. Go to any country and you will find Nigerian professionals performing at par with their counterparts. In many cases, they are excelling in their chosen fields. “That tells us something very important: the problem is not the Nigerian people. The problem is leadership.” Bugaje said the manifesto was more than a statement of intention, describing it as a commitment to Nigerians and a “living document” that would be refined through engagement with citizens. He said the document addressed virtually every major area of national development, particularly security, productivity and prosperity. The vice-presidential candidate also highlighted Nigeria’s agricultural productivity deficit, noting that only a fraction of the country’s arable land was being cultivated and that yields for crops such as tomatoes remained below the African average. He said the party believed Nigeria could dramatically increase agricultural productivity by adopting proven methods and investing in value chains. Bugaje identified the cost of energy as a critical obstacle to prosperity, saying it affected transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and virtually every other sector of the economy. “We know precisely where the problems are, and I think we will, with the support of Nigeria, address them,” he said. He, however, warned that implementing the SDP’s agenda would not be easy because entrenched interests that had benefited from the existing system would resist change. “They are going to fight. But we shall fight. And we shall win. And we shall deliver, God willing,” Bugaje declared.