The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has unveiled a five-point agenda for the transformation of Nigeria.
The agenda focuses on the promise to tackle insecurity, unemployment, low productivity, poor electricity supply and weak institutions if elected president in 2027.
Adebayo, who spoke during an interactive session with journalists and members of the Middle-Belt Forum, also launched a blistering criticism of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, arguing that economic growth figures mean little to Nigerians if they do not translate into jobs, higher productivity, better living standards and improved opportunities for businesses.
The SDP candidate said Nigeria’s challenges were fundamentally linked to weak institutions, poor accountability, low productive capacity and what he described as government-enabled criminality.
“What is sustaining criminality and violence in Nigeria is that it is either government sponsored or government enabled,” Adebayo said.
He pledged that a government led by him would dismantle structures that enable criminality and would not tolerate the involvement of public officials in activities that undermine national security.
He said his administration would also undertake a major restructuring of the country’s security architecture, with greater emphasis on intelligence gathering, community responsiveness and the ability of security agencies to prevent crimes rather than merely respond after attacks have occurred.
On the economy, Adebayo rejected what he described as an overreliance on headline growth figures as a measure of national progress.
According to him, the real measure of economic performance should be the productive capacity and welfare of ordinary Nigerians, businesses and government enterprises.
He proposed a full-employment strategy, greater transparency in revenue collection, stronger financial accountability and a clear separation between public officials and government contracting.
The SDP candidate also advocated the decentralisation of economic production, arguing that states and local governments should play a greater role in sectors such as agriculture and mining.
He proposed what he called a “promotional tax regime”, designed to protect living wages, stimulate investment and encourage businesses to expand production rather than merely increase government revenue.
Adebayo said Nigeria’s vast mineral resources, particularly those located across the Middle Belt, represented an enormous economic opportunity that had yet to be fully exploited.
He argued that properly regulated mining could generate substantial employment, increase government revenue and diversify the economy beyond its dependence on petroleum.
On the power sector, Adebayo said Nigeria must abandon what he described as outdated electricity-generation ambitions and begin planning for an economy capable of supporting large-scale industrialisation.
He proposed that Nigeria should target between 50,000 megawatts to 75,000 megawatts of electricity generation capacity by 2050, combining gas-fired generation, solar power and the rehabilitation of existing hydroelectric infrastructure.
“At least Nigeria now, any presidential candidate who is not giving you a plan for 50,000 megawatts is behind time,” he said.
Adebayo also criticised the existing electricity market, alleging that political interests had interfered with tariff collection and other critical aspects of the sector.
He called for the restructuring of electricity distribution companies and the energy procurement system to improve efficiency and ensure more reliable electricity supply to households and businesses.
Security, he said, would remain at the heart of his administration.
Adebayo promised to restructure the armed forces and security architecture to make them more responsive to communities while strengthening intelligence capabilities.
He maintained that government could not defeat insecurity by simply reacting to attacks after they had occurred, arguing that the root causes and networks sustaining violence must be confronted.
According to him, effective security requires not only military intervention but also stronger institutions, economic opportunity and a government capable of identifying and disrupting criminal networks before they strike.
The SDP candidate also outlined a foreign policy centred on international partnerships capable of strengthening Nigeria’s national security, education, technology and access to global markets.
He promised that his administration would pay greater attention to Nigerians living abroad, arguing that the Nigerian diaspora should be deliberately integrated into the country’s development strategy.
Adebayo’s proposals came as the SDP intensified its engagement with political and community stakeholders ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party’s National Chairman, Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe, said the SDP was positioning itself to participate in a credible electoral process while contributing to Nigeria’s democratic development.
Gombe urged the Middle-Belt Forum to play a strategic role in shaping the country’s political future, describing the group as an important stakeholder in Nigeria.
“My request for them from the Middle Belt is that as one of the key stakeholders in our country, we came to unveil our manifesto and the manifesto of the candidate to them, so as we move on together toward the rescue mission of our dear country,” he said.
The SDP chairman said the party was encouraged by the reception it received from members of the Middle Belt and their understanding of Adebayo’s policy proposals.
