Follow Us on Google
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, has promised to eliminate poverty and tackle insecurity within four years if elected president in the 2027 general election.
Adebayo made the pledge while unveiling his presidential blueprint, Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity, in Abuja and later discussing the policy document in an interview on ARISE NEWS.
He described the blueprint as a comprehensive alternative for addressing Nigeria’s economic and security challenges, insisting that its proposals were anchored on the Nigerian Constitution.
“First, the most important thing about the blueprint is that it complies with the Constitution. Section 224 of the Constitution says that the manifesto or policy of every political party must comply. Only the SDP complies. So we have followed the Constitution,” he said.
Adebayo expressed confidence that the policies could produce significant improvements in the country within a single presidential term.
“At the end of the four-year term, we will have eliminated poverty. I’m not saying every Nigerian is going to be a billionaire, but we will eliminate poverty and deal with insecurity,” he said.
According to him, the SDP’s programme is built around a clear national development philosophy rather than the pursuit of political power for its own sake.
He said the party planned to release 16 additional policy books detailing solutions to various national challenges and argued that the policies should be useful beyond the SDP.
“What we want to do in the SDP is use what we have that they don’t have: we have the intellect and we have the philosophy. So we will first solve the problems,” Adebayo said.
He said the party’s economic strategy would focus on addressing the structural causes of poverty through education, agriculture, healthcare, housing, infrastructure and employment.
Adebayo described education as the most important tool for lifting young Nigerians out of poverty and promised to ensure that every child of school age is enrolled in school.
“The fastest train out of the station of poverty is education,” he said, adding that the SDP would seek to achieve universal school enrolment within three months of taking office.
He also promised greater investment in agriculture to improve food production and reduce the cost of feeding Nigerians.
Adebayo cited Kaduna, Nasarawa and Benue states as examples of areas with the potential to produce enough food to supply other parts of the country if properly supported.
On healthcare, he said the government would expand access to medical services so that citizens would not be pushed into poverty by healthcare costs.
“You are allowed to be broke without being poor, in the sense that you can afford food, you are not using more than 9% or 8% of your income for housing, and you are not paying anything for medical care because that’s your right,” he said.
The SDP candidate also promised to reduce unemployment to between two and three per cent through massive infrastructure projects, agricultural investment and expansion of social services.
He said such investments would create jobs for teachers, healthcare workers and other professionals while simultaneously improving public services.
On electricity, Adebayo proposed decentralised solar power generation, promising to install between 11 and 15 kilowatts of solar capacity on every roof within 11 months if elected.
“Just making solar panels, for example, to reduce energy failure—I promise that between 11 to 15 kilowatts of solar power will be put on every roof within 11 months,” he said.
He projected that the solar clusters could generate up to 32,000 megawatts and said the national grid would function mainly as a backup to the decentralised system.
Adebayo also reiterated his support for a mixed economy in which government makes strategic investments alongside the private sector, particularly in areas capable of generating employment and strengthening domestic production.
On his political prospects, he expressed confidence that the SDP could win enough legislative seats to implement its proposed reforms, citing the party’s previous experience in securing Senate and House of Representatives seats.
He said Nigerians would support the party once they understood its policy proposals.
Adebayo further pledged that his administration would prioritise national unity over party identity if elected, saying the Nigerian flag would represent his allegiance.
“My flag when I become president is green-white-green; it is not the orange of the SDP anymore,” he said.
