The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Adewole Adebayo, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of running an administration focused more on extracting taxes from Nigerians than creating economic opportunities for citizens.
Adebayo, who spoke during a televised interview, described the Tinubu administration as a government driven by aggressive revenue extraction rather than productivity and economic development.
The SDP flagbearer in the 2027 election said contrary to insinuations, he was not opposed to taxation, but argued that government should first create an enabling environment for citizens and businesses to thrive before imposing heavy tax burdens.
“You cannot form a government for the purposes solely of extracting tax from the people,” he said.
According to him, the role of government should be to stimulate productivity, support innovation and help small businesses grow into larger enterprises capable of creating jobs and wealth.
“A government is a facilitator. A government is not a pickpocket,” Adebayo declared.
The presidential candidate said the current administration’s economic approach was stifling entrepreneurship and making survival difficult for ordinary Nigerians.
Referring to young entrepreneurs and small business owners, he argued that government ought to invest in their growth potential instead of imposing policies that could cripple them at infancy.
“You make sure that this young man who is driving Uber, if I invest a little in him, he can be manufacturing drones for me because he has intellectual capacity,” he said.
He added: “If you have a small business, you are not immediately trying to take the money of that business. You think of how it can grow into a franchise across West Africa and become a Nigerian brand.”
Adebayo accused the Tinubu administration of doing the opposite by allegedly overburdening struggling Nigerians with taxes and economic policies that weaken purchasing power.
“The idea is not what he is doing, which is to extract tax and kill you right at the beginning,” he stated.
The SDP candidate also reiterated his criticism of the removal of fuel subsidy, insisting that the policy had worsened hardship instead of reducing corruption as promised by the government.
“I said President Tinubu’s policies would ruin the economy and ruin purchasing power for the people,” he said.
According to him, Nigerians are increasingly unable to survive on legitimate earnings because of rising living costs and economic pressure.
“No matter how much your organisation pays you in Nigeria, you cannot earn an honest living,” Adebayo argued.
He said an SDP-led administration would focus on productivity, industrial growth, support for small businesses and implementation of constitutional provisions aimed at improving citizens’ welfare.
