The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has taken President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to task over his failure to personally attend the signing of an electoral peace accord.
He alleged that the president’s absence sends a troubling signal about the government’s true commitment to peaceful, free and credible elections.
Adebayo argued that the president, as the nation’s highest political authority and a direct beneficiary of Nigeria’s electoral process, had a duty to personally lead political actors in demonstrating commitment to peace, especially with the 2027 general elections drawing near.
Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony, the SDP candidate insisted that Tinubu’s presence would have sent a powerful message to political parties, candidates, security agencies and the electorate that the Federal Government was serious about preventing violence and protecting the integrity of the vote.
“President Tinubu not showing up today is showing that he’s not committed to peace,” Adebayo said.
He warned that the president’s absence carries implications far beyond the ceremony itself particularly in how government officials and security personnel read the administration’s true attitude toward electoral peace.
“He’s sending a wrong signal to law enforcement, people who work for the government, that the president looks like he’s not committed enough,” he said.
Adebayo called on Tinubu to personally address the fallout from his absence by explaining why he stayed away and publicly reaffirming his commitment to a peaceful electoral process.
“He needs to correct that by making a clear statement, explaining why he’s absent, and making sure that he makes a statement, commit himself to the peace,” he said.
The SDP presidential candidate flatly rejected suggestions that pressing state duties or national-security concerns might have kept the president away, arguing that safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic continuity is itself among the country’s most critical national-security responsibilities.
He maintained that credible elections are the bedrock of legitimate governance, stressing that Tinubu himself owes his office to that very process.
“It is this process that made him president, process of election,” he said, arguing that the President — having ascended through the ballot — should be among the loudest voices defending its integrity.
“It is good for you as a leader to signal that we believe in a society, we believe in peace as a process,” he said.
He went further, questioning why the president failed to show up to an event reportedly scheduled around his own convenience.
“Everything was made to accommodate the president, including timing, including date, and he gave word that he was going to be there,” Adebayo claimed.
