Opposition must unite against poverty, not Tinubu — SDP presidential candidate, Adebayo

In this interview with OLUFEMI ADEDIRAN, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Adewole Adebayo, explains why he believes opposition parties should unite around issues rather than simply against President Bola Tinubu

You promised to reduce petrol to N200 per litre by reviving local refineries. How would you achieve this, given the billions previously spent on refinery rehabilitation without success?

This government is not interested in making the refineries work. The former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, said the rehabilitation of the refineries was 90 per cent complete and that they were conducting test runs.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the refineries. I suspect that they want to run them down and sell them cheaply.

The refineries must work. You cannot be the Minister of Petroleum and allow the refineries under your watch to remain dysfunctional after spending so much money rehabilitating them.

The companies engaged for the turnaround maintenance cannot collect our money and fail to do the work. It is not in the interest of the elite who call themselves government to make the refineries work, but it is in my interest and that of my party to make them work.

What do you consider the biggest problem the Tinubu administration has failed to solve?

The biggest problem of President Tinubu’s administration is the President himself. His character, attitude, disposition, and mentality, taken together, have produced the results we are seeing.

The presidency is about one person because Section 5 of the Constitution vests executive power in the President as Commander-in-Chief. But he is not on the ground; he is not visible or accessible. That is why everything is falling apart.

If I am elected, I will be on the ground, hands-on, accessible, and teachable. That way, I can engage Nigerians, identify their talents, and invite them to serve in my government.

I will provide leadership, strength and stamina and take issues directly to the people.

I believe Tinubu cannot govern effectively in a modern democracy because, in my view, he does not engage sufficiently with the people and lacks a sense of service.

He sees the presidency as a position to occupy rather than one that carries responsibility. The problems of corruption, nepotism, mediocrity, ineptitude, insularity, and lack of exposure that we see in the government are, in my view, connected to the nature of his leadership.

He is not sufficiently conscious of what it means to serve the country, which is why he takes criticism as an insult.

You contested the 2023 presidential election but were not among the major contenders. What has changed between 2023 and 2027 to convince you that the SDP can win?

There is nothing called a major candidate. The presidency has no silver or bronze medal. You either win or you do not; there is no consolation prize.

The lesson I learnt is that we need free, fair and credible elections before we can determine who wins. That is why I am concentrating on holding INEC accountable. You have seen me go to court to challenge provisions of the Electoral Act that I believe will not guarantee free, fair and credible elections because I want a level playing field.

I also need to rescue my party from internal sabotage because the enemies of opposition parties are sometimes within the opposition itself.

A lot of the destruction that happened to the PDP was caused by people within the party whom the government allegedly used.

Right now, I believe Nyesom Wike is holding significant influence over the PDP, and President Tinubu has people like Wike in other opposition parties.

We are also learning to take our message to every part of Nigeria. We need to reach people where they are and prepare our supporters for a strong resistance against vote-buying, rigging and other forms of electoral malpractice.

The person who came first in 2023 could come last in 2027, while the person who came second could perform differently, if the votes are properly counted. Nobody is small because we are all on the same ballot.

Let us work towards having a credible ballot where people can vote, and their votes will count. I pray there will be a revolution in our electoral system so that the so-called big men will fall flat.

But if elections are about rigging and vote-buying, we can never know what Nigerians truly believe.

Do you agree that defeating the APC in 2027 would require opposition parties to form a coalition and present a single presidential candidate?

What I know is that all Nigerians need to come together, not against Tinubu but against poverty and insecurity.

Being against Tinubu is not enough. You can oppose him because you do not like him, because you are jealous of him or because he did not give you an appointment. But what happens if Tinubu is no longer there? Who will you then oppose?

Let us unite against insecurity and poverty. Let us rally Nigerians around the idea that 66 years after independence, we do not want to wait another 660 years before Nigeria becomes great.

This election should be about that. If it is, Nigerians should support the party that they believe can implement those objectives.

It does not matter who your opponent is. Once you have the highest number of votes and meet the constitutional requirements, you win.

If people believe APC is the problem and stop voting for it, the party will lose, whether or not the opposition formally comes together.

All I know is that if we work together, it will make defeating the APC certain. But even if each party works hard to convince Nigerians to vote for it rather than the APC, one of the opposition parties can emerge ahead.

If opposition parties agree on a transparent process for selecting a consensus presidential candidate, would you submit yourself to the process and accept its outcome?

I am not against stepping down for another candidate. The issue I am raising is not about stepping down. It is about all Nigerians agreeing that we must end poverty and insecurity through this election.

Nigeria has several problems, but poverty and insecurity are the chief among them. We must use this election to address them.

If political parties and politicians come together around that mission, it will resolve many other issues.

What will unite the opposition should also be capable of uniting Nigerians. Our definition of opposition is too loose. We need something concrete to rally around.

But if it is simply an opposition of Tinubu haters, count me out.

I do not hate anybody to that extent. But if it is about eradicating poverty and insecurity, I will be part of it. Under that framework, there is no price too high for me to pay, as long as I am convinced that it will help end poverty and insecurity in Nigeria.

Is there any policy of the Tinubu administration you would retain if elected?

I do not know if this administration has any coherent policy. In my view, it has no clear policy because it has no principles.

You need principles to develop policies. What we have seen are transactions, some of which are presented as government programmes.

Nigeria’s policy direction is contained in Chapter Two of the Constitution, which sets out the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, including security and welfare, education, healthcare, employment and justice.

If you are not pursuing those objectives, then, in my view, you are not doing what government should do.

What we see are transactions — buying and selling, awarding contracts and other activities. Those are not policies.

If elected President, what should Nigerians hold you accountable for?

They should hold me accountable for my pledge to eradicate poverty and insecurity and for everything contained in our party manifesto.

I will govern by the book, not by guesswork.

Our leaders who succeeded in the past governed according to their programmes and principles. They did not base government decisions on guesswork or policies designed around their friends.

This current government, in my view, is not governing by a clear national plan. We need national policies and the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. Once those are established, government can develop programmes to achieve them.

You then go to the National Assembly to enact laws that strengthen those policies. You create institutions to achieve the objectives and recruit Nigerians based on their talents and interests.

You use public funds to finance those institutions. That is what qualifies you as a chief executive.

Government is not permanent; it has an expiry date. You have four years, and within those four years, you must do what you were elected to do and leave office.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).