The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has said he is ready to take over leadership of the country from President Bola Tinubu, insisting that he can deliver better governance for Nigerians.
Adebayo made the declaration during an interview at the weekend while reacting to the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 general elections.
He said while opposition parties were already preparing for the next election cycle, the more critical question was whether Nigerians themselves were ready to change the government.
“The opposition being ready is a given. What is more important is whether the people are ready,” he said.
“If you ask me whether I am ready to take over from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and govern the country better, yes, I am ready, even today.”
The SDP chieftain said he was well prepared for leadership and had assembled competent individuals capable of providing clear direction for the country.
“You can drive me to Aso Rock Villa today and ask me to take over and you will see a better result immediately. I am better prepared, better intentioned and surrounded by people with a clearer vision,” he said.
Adebayo also criticised the administration of Tinubu, describing the current government as a “historic disaster.”
“Our duty, as we point out that President Tinubu’s government is a disaster — which is obvious by every metric — is to organise the opposition and present clear alternatives to the people,” he said.
According to him, defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress would depend largely on mobilising voters and convincing them that a change of government is necessary.
“It is not difficult to defeat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. What we need to do is bring more voters out and help them understand that their immediate solution is to remove the APC from power,” he added.
Adebayo also urged Nigerians to vote out members of the National Assembly, accusing lawmakers of passing electoral laws that favour the ruling party.
“The duty Nigerians have is to make sure that no member of the National Assembly returns because they surrendered the sovereignty of Nigeria to the whims of one person,” he said.
Reacting to threats by the Inter-Party Advisory Council to boycott future elections if the Electoral Act is not amended, Adebayo said calls for improvements to the law were legitimate.
However, he noted that political parties must continue to prepare for elections despite the controversy.
“The right decision is to have a good Electoral Act that encourages people to vote and deepens democracy. But parties must continue their groundwork so they are not caught unawares,” he said.
He added that although the current law contains what he described as “booby traps”, opposition parties still have a responsibility to defeat the government through the ballot.
Adebayo also rejected calls for a broad opposition coalition aimed solely at unseating Tinubu in 2027.
He criticised some politicians who recently moved to the African Democratic Congress, noting that many of them had previously been part of administrations responsible for Nigeria’s current challenges.
“You cannot say you are against corruption or bad governance and then align with the same people who created the problem,” he said.
According to him, replacing Tinubu with politicians who had earlier held power without reforming the system would not solve the country’s problems.
“If you remove Tinubu and bring back those who created the same problems, you have achieved nothing,” he added.
Despite concerns about the strength of the SDP compared to the APC, Adebayo expressed confidence that the party could regain national relevance by reconnecting with ordinary Nigerians.