•••Emphasizes Jobs, Healthcare Reform Agenda for Nigerians
Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
Fresh from securing the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential ticket for the 2027 elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo has unveiled an expansive policy agenda focused on poverty reduction, employment generation, healthcare reform and industrial revival.
Addressing party delegates and supporters after emerging as the SDP’s consensus presidential candidate at the party’s national convention in Bauchi, Adebayo said his administration would pursue a “people-centred government” aimed at rebuilding public trust and improving living conditions across the country.
Central to his agenda is an ambitious economic recovery plan which, according to him, would drive down poverty and unemployment within the first few years of an SDP administration.
“The mandate you have given to me today will be used to articulate over 500 programmes, at the end of which, within the first 18 months of our administration, poverty in Nigeria will reduce to two per cent,” he declared.
Adebayo said the proposed reforms would target critical sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, education and healthcare, with a strong emphasis on job creation and productivity.
He promised to reduce unemployment to four per cent within two years through large-scale public works and industrial programmes designed to absorb millions of Nigerians into productive ventures.
According to him, the jobs initiative would support road construction, manufacturing, small businesses, agriculture and local industries across the federation.
The SDP candidate also pledged sweeping reforms in the education sector, promising free and compulsory education from primary school to tertiary level.
“Our education will continue until you get a job. Until you get a job, you have not graduated,” he said.
He explained that his administration planned to integrate education with employment opportunities to ensure graduates transition directly into the workforce.
On healthcare, Adebayo proposed a nationwide system that would link citizens’ National Identification Numbers to health insurance and preventive medical care.
“Your NIN will also become your health insurance number,” he stated, adding that every Nigerian would be entitled to four free medical examinations annually under the SDP healthcare programme.
The presidential candidate further outlined plans to revive moribund public enterprises and manufacturing industries, including the Ajaokuta Steel Company, textile mills, refineries and paper factories.
According to him, restoring local industries would stimulate economic activity, reduce import dependence and create sustainable employment opportunities nationwide.
Adebayo also criticised the current administration’s economic policies, arguing that ordinary Nigerians had not benefited meaningfully from reforms such as fuel subsidy removal.
He accused the current government of poor economic management, policy inconsistency and failure to address worsening hardship across the country.
Beyond economic reforms, the SDP flag bearer advocated stronger state governments, independent legislatures and more functional local government administration, insisting that effective grassroots governance remained key to national development and poverty reduction.
He said the SDP intended to present Nigerians with what he described as a practical alternative centred on accountability, welfare and economic recovery ahead of the 2027 general elections.
