Prince Adewole Adebayo, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its flagbearer for the 2027 election, has declared that Nigeria is yet to achieve true democracy, describing the current system as mere “civilian rule.”
Speaking to journalists after the country’s Democracy Day celebrations, Adebayo argued that although Nigeria has maintained uninterrupted civilian governance since 1999, core democratic values such as accountability, rule of law, credible elections, and citizens’ welfare remain largely absent.
“Since 1993, only two things have changed our problems have become bigger, and our democratic space has become smaller,” he stated.
The SDP leader warned that escalating poverty and insecurity pose serious threats to national stability if left unaddressed.
“Poverty has grown and given birth to insecurity. If we fail to address both, they may eventually give rise to instability, revolution, or even genocide,” Adebayo cautioned.
He further criticised the government’s approach to governance, dismissing claims of ongoing reforms as superficial.
“There are no reforms. Renaming problems is not reform. Increasing taxes and calling it tax reform is not reform,” he said, while stressing that governance must focus on immediate human needs rather than distant promises.
Adebayo called for genuine constitutional reforms, including greater independence for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and real-time transmission of election results to restore public trust in the electoral process.
His comments come amid ongoing national discourse on the state of democracy 33 years after the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election.
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