Adewole Adebayo has emerged once again as the presidential flagbearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the 2027 election, after delegates at the party’s national convention in Bauchi endorsed him through a consensus arrangement.
The convention, held on Saturday in Bauchi, also ratified the appointment of Prof. Sadiq Gombe as national chairman, signalling the start of the party’s campaign preparations ahead of the next general election.
The endorsements followed motions moved by senior party figures, including state chairmen, and adopted by delegates without opposition.
In a speech heavy with criticism of the government’s economic management, Adebayo said worsening hardship had left many Nigerians unable to provide for their families despite working relentlessly.
“For many who are working very hard, the economic policies of the government of the day make them look lazy,” he said. “When they go home, their children ask why there is no food, why school fees are unpaid, and why sick relatives cannot access healthcare.”
He also spoke of the plight of Nigerians abroad, saying economic desperation had forced many into precarious situations overseas.
“Why am I in China hiding from immigration just to earn a living when I have a country of my own?” he asked.
Adebayo warned against what he described as creeping authoritarianism and argued that Nigeria’s democracy depended on a genuinely competitive multi-party system. Without directly naming the ruling All Progressives Congress, he accused those in power of interfering in opposition politics and shrinking democratic space.
He praised Bala Mohammed for allowing the convention to proceed without disruption, and urged Nigerians to use democratic means to demand change.
Moments after being sworn in alongside members of the party’s new National Working Committee, Gombe declared that the SDP represented the country’s strongest alternative to the current administration.
“We want to assure Nigerians that the SDP will provide the needed alternative platform for the rescue mission of this country,” he said, promising transparent and constitutional leadership.
Earlier, the chairman of the convention planning committee, Usman Bugaje, delivered a sweeping attack on the state of governance in Nigeria, citing insecurity, soaring fuel prices, unemployment and deepening poverty.
Bugaje accused the ruling party of attempting to neutralise opposition politics and weaken democratic institutions, alleging that bodies such as the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission had become instruments of political control.
“The attempt by the ruling party to block the political space and eliminate competition and opposition is one of the most despicable offences today,” he said.
He said the convention’s theme — “Building a People’s Coalition to Secure Our Homeland and Defeat Poverty” — reflected the SDP’s attempt to position itself as an ideologically driven alternative at a time when, he argued, other parties were recycling political elites linked to Nigeria’s long-running crises.
The party’s national secretary, Olu Agunloye, said the SDP had spent the past four years resisting attempts by “self-serving politicians” to seize control of its structures.
“The party survived the siege of takeover attempts by self-serving politicians and agents of coalition,” he said, adding that internal reforms had restored the party to its “original owners”.
Agunloye described the SDP as Nigeria’s second-oldest surviving political party after the People’s Redemption Party, saying it had strengthened internal discipline, revised its constitution and secured court victories against INEC over what he called unlawful interference.
“All positions in the 2027 general elections will be contested,” he said. “At any moment from now, the SDP will show itself as perhaps the most credible political party and a strong member of the opposition.”
