Adebayo Criticises Tinubu Over Hardship, Calls on Nigerians to Speak Up

(Adewole Adebayo. Photo Credit: Vanguard News)

SDP presidential candidate Adewole Adebayo has accused President Bola Tinubu of being more interested in staying in the Presidential Villa and making money than solving the problems facing Nigerians.

He made the claim in Ibadan at the public presentation of his blueprint, Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity, where he urged Nigerians to organise at the grassroots and demand better governance.

He alleged that Tinubu does not like the job of president, does not want to talk to citizens or supervise ministers, and is only around to pack money.

He also claimed Tinubu first made money by sponsoring people into office, then decided to run himself after feeling not enough money was coming back.

Adebayo said that repeatedly electing leaders accused of corruption should make citizens look at their own role.

He asked why Nigerians keep choosing thieves.

He warned that one more year under Tinubu could worsen hardship.

He predicted petrol could hit N5,000 per litre, the economy could grind to a halt and people could become millionaires who cannot buy bread.

He described 66 years of independence as an unfulfilled promise, saying independence means little when people are hungry, sick, jobless and without housing.

He said his message was not about lamentation but about action, adding that you need tough action to crack a palm kernel.

He said people's willingness to trade their values for political and financial gain keeps bad governance alive, and urged Nigerians to stop cooperating with injustice, patronage and misuse of public funds.

He said government must provide free and compulsory quality education, affordable healthcare, housing, food and jobs.

Using his farming experience, he said he pays to treat his cow and even calls a vet for the family dog, so government should value citizens at least as much.

On electricity, he proposed a nationwide solar initiative with rooftop panels, especially for low-income homes.

He said he advised the Obasanjo administration to consider solar in September 2001.

He also questioned how leaders who do not pay for what ordinary people pay for can help bring prices down.

He said the manifesto is not a book for decoration but an agreement that Nigeria's resources will be used for its people.

Adebayo said Nigeria's biggest problem is the inability to organise across religious, ethnic and other divides, and that defeating organised crime in government requires an organised democracy.

He warned that children denied education can be recruited by criminal groups and that people who cannot afford treatment can lose their lives.

In his five-point appeal, he urged Nigerians to talk less about politicians, build from their own streets and speak to their neighbours about whether they will vote.

He told them to rule Tinubu out of their lives and not even consider him as a candidate.