The presidential campaign of Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Adewole Adebayo has described President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a “catastrophic failure,” accusing it of worsening Nigeria’s economic, security and infrastructure challenges.
The campaign made the allegation in a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its Head of Media and Communications Directorate, Mark Adebayo.
It also promoted its “Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity” blueprint as a proposed roadmap for addressing the country’s challenges.
The campaign listed 21 areas in which it alleged that the Tinubu administration had failed, beginning with the removal of petrol subsidy on the day of his inauguration in May 2023.
It argued that the decision increased transportation and production costs, contributing to rising poverty and hardship.
The campaign also criticised the administration’s foreign exchange reforms, blaming the naira’s depreciation and rising inflation for reducing Nigerians’ purchasing power and increasing the cost of imported goods and raw materials.
It faulted electricity tariff increases, saying they had placed additional pressure on households and small businesses. It further argued that rising living costs had eroded the gains from minimum wage adjustments.
On employment and migration, the campaign linked the departure of multinational companies and the mass migration of skilled Nigerians, commonly known as “Japa”, to economic difficulties and limited opportunities at home.
It also accused the government of failing to address insecurity, including banditry, insurgency and kidnappings, which it said had disrupted farming activities and worsened food insecurity.
The campaign questioned the effectiveness of the government’s conditional cash transfer and palliative programmes, alleging that they lacked transparency and had failed to reach many vulnerable Nigerians.
It called for an independent forensic audit of the reported ₦750bn spent on cash transfers to 15 million households.
Other criticisms centred on alleged budget irregularities, the simultaneous implementation of multiple capital budgets, excessive government spending, appointments it described as nepotistic, and a lack of transparency in governance.
The campaign also accused the administration of restricting civil liberties through arrests of protesters and the use of cybercrime laws against journalists, critics and opposition figures.
On foreign affairs, it criticised the delay in posting ambassadors and questioned Nigeria’s diplomatic standing, while also faulting the government’s handling of major road projects.
It particularly opposed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project, arguing that critical routes, including the Asaba-Benin Road and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, required greater attention.
The campaign also challenged the argument that previous experience in public office should determine a candidate’s suitability for higher political positions. It questioned what Tinubu’s experience as a former senator and Lagos State governor had delivered for Nigerians.
The campaign urged Nigerians to consider Adebayo’s “Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity” blueprint, which it said would place poverty reduction, security and economic development at the centre of governance.
According to the campaign, the proposed plan would focus on three pillars: security, productivity and prosperity.
It said the blueprint would combine government intervention with private-sector participation under a social democratic framework.
Among its proposed targets are generating 75,000 megawatts of electricity, establishing four public refineries and 36 modular refineries, expanding mechanised agriculture and promoting digital innovation.
The campaign also proposed decentralising political and economic power through cooperative federalism, with the aim of making local government areas more economically productive and better equipped to address security challenges.
It said the plan would seek to improve employment, increase food production, strengthen energy supply and make government performance more accountable to citizens.
The criticisms and policy proposals were presented by Adebayo’s campaign as part of its case for an alternative government ahead of the 2027 general elections.
