2027: I Can Step Down for Better Candidate – SDP’s Adebayo
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Adewole Adebayo, has stated that he is open to stepping down from his presidential ambition in the 2027 elections to allow a stronger candidate to emerge as the party’s flag bearer.
Adebayo made this remark during the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political program aired on Channels Television.
“It is my prayer to God that if there is a person who God thinks is better than me to fix the problem of Nigeria, my ambition should not stop that person because we want a country that works. That is the kind of thing we are working on at this time,” Adebayo said.
He stated that the SDP would present Nigerians with a candidate they could take pride in and support as a strong contender to unseat President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next presidential election.
Additionally, he emphasized that the SDP would not sow division among Nigerians based on religion or ethnicity.
“What used to be an easy discussion – with religion and ethnicity – has become explosive now. So, we will not use the SDP forum to try to bifurcate our people into different zones.
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“What we are looking for now is a system where when we make a choice in the SDP, there will be resounding joy outside the SDP and Nigerians will say: ‘Okay, finally, this platform has given the country a chance’,” he added.
Ahead of the 2027 elections, discussions about an inter-party alliance peaked on Thursday, March 20, 2025, when opposition leader Atiku Abubakar, along with former Anambra governor Peter Obi, ex-Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, and others, announced a coalition aimed at unseating President Bola Tinubu. Tinubu’s administration has faced accusations of economic mismanagement, record-high inflation, and an unprecedented cost of living crisis.
The coalition is leveraging the numerical strength of Atiku and Obi’s combined votes from the previous election.
In 2023, Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, and Obi of the Labour Party (LP) secured second and third place, respectively, amassing over 12 million votes—more than four million ahead of Tinubu’s total, despite his victory being declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Amid ongoing intra-party disputes, leadership crises within the PDP and LP, and grievances among some All Progressives Congress (APC) members, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has emerged as an attractive alternative.
El-Rufai and several of his allies have already defected to the SDP. While reports suggest Atiku and Obi may be considering a similar move, neither has made an official announcement yet.
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