The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently tackle Nigeria’s rising insecurity, insisting that the President must be decisive or step down.
Adebayo made the statement on Tuesday in Abuja at the National Electoral Reforms Summit 2025, organised by the National Consultative Front (NCFront) and the Labour and Civil Society Front (LCSF). The event, themed “Critical Constitutional Amendments for Credible Elections in 2027”, was convened to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.
Speaking on the sidelines of recent comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding attacks on Christians in Nigeria, Adebayo warned against turning Trump’s remarks into a religious debate.
“The Nigerian armed forces, the way I know them, can protect the whole of West Africa if you let them do it. But they cannot protect their own barracks if you say they should not do it,” he said.
He accused successive administrations of using insecurity as a political and economic tool, saying Nigeria’s security woes persist due to lack of will rather than lack of capacity.
“I thank Mr. Trump for showing interest in Nigeria at all. But we must not turn his interest into a Christian-Muslim debate. Trump cannot resolve our problems in the short term; local leadership is key,” Adebayo added.
He stressed that democracy must provide tangible benefits for citizens, warning that leaders who fail to govern according to public expectations will be rejected at the polls.
Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, also addressed the summit, urging Nigerians to elect leaders they can hold accountable. He criticized selective prosecution in Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts.
“The politicians they arrest are those against the government in power. If you are with the government, nothing will happen,” he said.
He challenged citizens to demand accountability rather than relying solely on political promises.
In her remarks, former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, highlighted structural gaps in the prosecution of electoral offenses. She explained that although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) identifies violations, it relies on the police and the Attorney-General for enforcement, creating room for abuse.
Ezekwesili called for:
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A dedicated prosecutorial unit within INEC
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Mandatory electronic transmission of election results
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Improved timelines for voter registration, candidate screening, and election logistics
The summit brought together policymakers, civil society leaders, and electoral experts who emphasized that sustained reforms are crucial to guaranteeing transparent and credible elections in 2027.
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