By Mr Adewole Adebayo, the presidential flag-bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has precluded the choice of alliance with any political party as the commencement of the 2023 presidential elections starts.
Adebayo made the statement while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday.
He said that the party had no arrangement at all, to merge or fashion an alliance with some other political party, although the SDP seems to have limited scope and impact in the current political landscape.
“We’re underdogs, but we will never enter an alliance or merge with any other party in the current scheme of things,” he said, disclosing that the party would soon spring surprises that would amaze political watchers.
He said that the party had made considerable progress, having won a past presidential election that was subsequently annulled by a former military ruler, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, in 1993.
According to Adebayo, the SDP is the best party to save Nigeria from its ongoing economic, political, and social woes, encouraging Nigerians to help the party significantly impact the country.
Commenting on the ongoing head-to-head between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the presidential aspirant argued that poor governance and endemic corruption were central to the continued inability of the feuding parties to resolve their differences to save the education sector.
Adebayo said if elected president, he would guarantee that government would have no business running the universities, noting that the running of universities should be the sole responsibility of universities’ councils.
According to him, universities’ funds should be controlled by governing councils of the universities, a development, he said, would give the universities freedom to run their affairs in learning and research.
Adebayo described the recurring ASUU strikes as “a showdown between ASUU and contractors in government’’, lamenting the negative impact of the endless strikes on the future of the nation.
The presidential candidate said he would increase the number of Unity Schools in Nigeria to 360, to guarantee that each Federal Constituency had a Unity school to give quality education to the masses.
On the deific insecurity in the country, Adebayo said that Nigeria required good governance to handle the issue decisively and end the wanton killing of Nigerians in various communities in the country
“What Nigeria needs is good governance. We should elect a good government that understands our diversity as a nation,” he stated, pointing out that anarchists were currently using terror to create confusion nationwide.
Adebayo lamented what he depicted as the relentless stealing of Nigeria’s crude oil offshore, saying that cash made from the sales of oil would be housed as special funds to discourage corruption and stealing of such resources.
He said that he would concentrate on ginger farming in the country to create up to $20 million every year from the item and give employment and sustained livelihood to farmers and the teeming populace.
