Obaloluwa Darasimi
Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has unveiled a five-point agenda for the transformation of Nigeria, promising 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, argued 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.

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.

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.

He therefore called for an end to what he described as the “criminalisation of mining”, insisting that the sector should be formally regulated and developed instead of being left vulnerable to illegal operators and criminal networks.

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 and 75,000 megawatts of electricity generation capacity by 2050, combining gas-fired generation, solar power and the rehabilitation of existing hydroelectric infrastructure.

“At least in 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.

On security, he said, it 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.

He expressed confidence that the engagement would deepen collaboration between the party and stakeholders in the region ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

With security, full employment, economic decentralisation, massive power expansion and institutional accountability at the centre of his agenda, Adebayo is positioning the SDP as an alternative political platform ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.

By Obaloluwa Darasimi

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, Wole Oluyede, has given insight into what transpired during the election and why he withdrew from challenging the election outcome.

Oluyede earlier contested the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election by heading to court because, according to him, the June 20 election did not meet the standard of a truly free, fair and credible election.
He has since discontinued the legal challenge.

Mixed reactions have trailed Oluyede’s decision to withdraw the legal challenge.
Setting the records straight, the PDP governorship candidate said, contrary to series insinuation in different quarters, he said he did not trade the election.

“I did not collect a kobo from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, the APC or anybody else in exchange for withdrawing my case.

“I did not sell my mandate.

“My integrity is not for sale. My decision to withdraw the petition followed extensive consultations and personal reflection. I consulted members of my family, political associates, members of my legal team and people whose advice I respect.

“I also considered the broader national interest. I had to ask myself whether prolonged litigation over the governorship election would ultimately serve the greater political and national objectives that I have supported for many years.

“After careful consideration, I chose statesmanship. That decision should not be interpreted as an admission that I considered the election perfect. Neither should it be seen as an acceptance that all the concerns raised by our campaign were unfounded.

“It was simply a decision to move forward,” Oluyede said.

Oluyede was of the view that there are moments in politics when personal ambition must be weighed against a larger national responsibility. For me, this was one of those moments.

Clarifying the circumstances surrounding the visit of Ekiti State governor, Biodun Oyebanji and the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, to his residence on Sunday, June 21, 2026, the day after the election, he disclosed that he received them as brothers, and the meeting was cordial.

“To the best of my recollection, our discussion had nothing to do with the conduct or the outcome of the election. Rather, we discussed our past relationship and the need for all of us, irrespective of our political differences, to work together in the interest of Ekiti State.

“I also used the opportunity to raise the plight of some of my supporters who had been detained during the election. The Governor promised to look into their situation, and I am grateful that he subsequently followed through on that commitment.

“We also discussed the need for us to explore ways of working together to make Ekiti better and move the State forward. That, to me, was the essence of the visit and our conversation.”

Why insisting that he had no personal problem with Governor Oyebanji, believes the governor deserved credit for the visit to his residence the day after the election, just as he believed he also deserved credit for receiving him with an open heart and treating him with the respect due to a brother, even though we had just contested against each other politically.

Saying, “That, to me, is how politics should be conducted. We may disagree politically and contest elections against one another, but that should not automatically make us enemies. Beyond politics, we are all Ekiti people, and we have a responsibility to work together for the progress and development of our State.”

Oluyede revealed that within minutes of the Ekiti governor’s visit, he started receiving telephone calls and visits from political leaders and members of the electorate, “demanding their share of a purported financial settlement from the governor.”

Oluyede said he was shocked to discover that rather than seeing the visit as an opportunity for reconciliation and a demonstration that political differences need not destroy personal relationships, some people chose to twist the narrative and portray the meeting as a financial settlement.

“I find this particularly unfortunate because one of the problems with our political culture in Ekiti is the tendency to reduce every political interaction to money. If a politician visits another politician, people immediately ask how much money changed hands. If two political opponents sit together, the first assumption is that there must have been a financial settlement.

“That is not the kind of political culture we should encourage.

“Political disagreements and electoral contests should not be allowed to destroy personal relationships. Politics should be about service, ideas and the future of our people, not a game in which every relationship is interpreted through the lens of money and every act of goodwill is turned into an opportunity for blackmail or character assassination. Ekiti deserves better than that,” Oluyede maintained.

He said that after careful consultations and reflection, he decided to move forward. “My withdrawal should not erase the lessons of the election. The results and the conduct of the election must be studied carefully as we prepare for 2027.

“We must learn from what happened, address the weaknesses exposed by the election and build a stronger, more credible electoral and grassroots mobilisation process, he concluded.