The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 election, Adewole Adebayo, has criticised the emergence of some former government officials as opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying many of them were part of the system that created Nigeria’s current challenges.

Speaking during an interview at the weekend, Adebayo said replacing the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with politicians who previously held power without solving key national problems would not bring the change Nigerians desire.

According to him, several politicians now presenting themselves as leaders of the opposition were previously in positions where they could have reformed governance and the electoral process, but failed to do so.

“You cannot say you are against corruption or bad governance and then align with the same people who created the problem,” he said.

Adebayo also criticised opposition figures who recently moved into the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arguing that many of them had spent years in government without introducing meaningful reforms.

He said some of those now criticising the current administration were part of governments that ignored opportunities to strengthen democratic institutions, including reforms to electoral laws.

“If you were in the Senate for 20 years and didn’t bring a single progressive law to improve elections, you cannot suddenly present yourself as the champion of electoral reform,” he said.

The SDP chieftain maintained that his party would not form alliances with such politicians, insisting that doing so would contradict the principles it claims to stand for.

“If I work with them as presently constituted, then I am a hypocrite because these same people represent the bad governance we are fighting,” he added.

Adebayo said Nigeria’s political future should not be a contest between rival groups of elite politicians but a movement driven by ordinary Nigerians seeking genuine reform.

According to him, the focus should be on presenting credible leaders and policies rather than simply building coalitions aimed solely at defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“You cannot remove one group responsible for the problem and replace them with another group that helped create the same problem,” he said.