The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has said President Bola Tinubu has “defeated himself” ahead of the 2027 general election through what he described as the poor performance of his administration.
Adebayo said the government had failed to adequately address poverty, insecurity and other governance challenges confronting Nigerians.
He stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, arguing that the administration appeared to be waiting to complete its four-year tenure rather than delivering the changes expected by citizens.
According to him, the performance of the government had weakened the purpose of governance and damaged the President’s re-election prospects.
Adebayo urged Nigerians to pay greater attention to the problems facing the country rather than concentrating solely on the personalities contesting the election.
He identified poverty, insecurity, poor governance and economic hardship as major issues that should dominate political discussions ahead of the polls.
The SDP candidate said he supported cooperation among political actors but maintained that his priority was to unite Nigerians around solutions rather than merely create an alliance of opposition politicians.
He added that the outcome of the election would depend largely on voter participation and public confidence in the electoral process.
Speaking on the publication of candidates’ particulars, Adebayo said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was responsible for receiving and displaying information submitted by political parties.
He argued that the commission was not empowered to determine the eligibility of candidates or independently verify every credential submitted to it.
“INEC is our servant. It’s working for the public. INEC is just like the post office,” he said.
“Its role is to collect the information submitted by political parties and candidates and make it available to the electorate. It’s not INEC’s job to vet the information.”
Adebayo said members of the public and other stakeholders had the responsibility to scrutinise candidates’ declarations and challenge any suspected falsehood through the appropriate legal processes.
The presidential candidate also dismissed reports of an internal crisis within the SDP, insisting that the party conducted a peaceful and transparent nomination process.
He said the publication of his name by INEC was a routine part of the electoral process.
According to him, the commission also published the name of the SDP vice-presidential candidate, alongside 109 senatorial candidates and 360 candidates for the House of Representatives.
Adebayo urged Nigerians to move beyond political speculation and assess candidates based on their proposed solutions to the country’s economic, security and governance challenges.
