Tinubu’s economic policies exclude Nigerians — SDP presidential candidate

Prince Adewale Adebayo, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies for excluding Nigerians. Adebayo, speaking in Abuja, claimed that Tinubu’s administration is running Nigeria’s economy without the people and has deepened poverty, insecurity, and economic hardship.

The SDP candidate argued that Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful development under a government that fails to understand the country’s diversity, specifically mentioning the Middle Belt region as the "stomach of Nigeria." Adebayo highlighted the Middle Belt's historical, cultural, agricultural, and natural-resource significance, stating that no leader can understand Nigeria without first understanding the Middle Belt, which is home to about 280 ethnic groups.

He criticized the concentration of ministerial appointments in certain parts of the country and called for an inclusive government that reflects Nigeria's diversity. On the economy, Adebayo accused Tinubu of economic illiteracy and alleged that the administration’s policies exclude Nigerians from economic production. He outlined four steps to solve Nigeria’s economic problems: stopping criminality in government, collecting government revenue publicly and accounting for it, engaging all Nigerians into full employment, and removing opaqueness and hiding in government.

Adebayo also proposed expanding Nigeria’s electricity generation capacity to between 50,000 and 75,000 megawatts, emphasizing the need for transparency in the procurement process.