2027: Adebayo blames APC policies for widespread hardship
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the forthcoming 2027 general elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using poverty and economic hardship as tools to weaken citizens and discourage them from demanding accountability from government.
Adebayo, who spoke during an interview on the state of the nation, argued that the widespread suffering across the country is not accidental but a direct consequence of policy failure under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration.
He said that millions of Nigerians had become so preoccupied with daily survival that they have lost sight of the rights and privileges that come with citizenship, maintaining that economic hardship has left many citizens unable to effectively engage government on issues affecting their welfare.
The SDP leader further argued that rather than empowering citizens through quality education, economic opportunities, and social welfare programmes, the government has presided over conditions that keep people dependent on political patronage and handouts.
He stressed that his political struggle is not against President Tinubu personally but against what he described as widespread ignorance among the populace, saying “My opponent is not Tinubu. My opponent is the ignorance of the people. Once they understand what government is supposed to do and what their rights are as citizens, they will know why they are suffering”.
Adebayo also accused the administration of failing to uphold the principles of governance outlined in Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution, which sets out the responsibilities of government toward citizens.
He argued that if public resources were properly managed and deployed in line with constitutional provisions, the current levels of poverty, unemployment, and social dislocation being experienced across the country would not exist, citing the growing number of out-of-school children as evidence of what he described as government’s neglect of its core responsibilities.
The SDP presidential candidate said the solution lies in political enlightenment and civic education, urging Nigerians to better understand the meaning of citizenship and the obligations government owes them.
