The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the 2027 general elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has described the Federal Government’s student loan policy as a crime against Nigerians, saying education must be free, compulsory and of high quality.
Nigeria’s education system is being weakened by what he described as poor policy choices and deliberate lowering of standards, Adebayo, who spoke in an interview with Vanguard after emerging as the SDP presidential candidate, said, it was reported.
Adebayo was most critical of the policy of the Federal Government on students’ loans, describing it as unconstitutional and unfair to young Nigerians.
“Student loans are a crime,” he said when asked if he would end student loans if elected.
Pressed, he said: “Yes. It’s a crime against the constitution and the people.”
The SDP candidate said education should not be paid for by student loans, as many of today’s political leaders had free education.
“Education is supposed to be free, compulsory and qualitative, so why should students borrow money for education? he asked. The members of the National Assembly did not borrow money for their own education. They had education for nothing.
“Education should be free because if you don’t invest in your people you destroy your society. You will turn scientists into taxi-drivers. You destroy civilization and insecurity grows because you are leaving the people who are supposed to become innovators behind. “That is the kind of society APC is creating.”
Adebayo said that a government that refused to invest in education would be breeding a society characterised by unemployment, insecurity and wasted talent.
If elected in 2027, the SDP would focus on public education, social welfare and institutional accountability, he said.
He also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of being more interested in winning elections than solving the daily challenges of Nigerians like food, transport, healthcare, jobs and education.
The SDP candidate said his party would pursue what he called “kitchen table politics”, which he said was a governance philosophy focused on the daily survival needs of ordinary Nigerians.
Adebayo’s Reaction to SDP Ticket
Speaking on his emergence as the SDP presidential candidate, Adebayo said he viewed the nomination as a new opportunity for the country and its citizens.
He said it felt good, but it was challenging. It’s a new opportunity for the country and for the sovereign people of this country who need a good government and a good plan.”
The SDP candidate said the party was positioning itself as an ideological alternative to the ruling party ahead of the 2027 polls.
He dismissed suggestions that his rise as a consensus candidate would generate bad blood in the party, saying the SDP understood the need to avoid internal rifts when up against an incumbent government.
“No. I don’t think so,” he said. The party knows three things. First of all, we have a sitting government, we cannot have internal battles. Secondly, we are, at our core, an ideological party. So it’s not personality wins.
Adebayo also addressed the internal crisis involving some officials of the SDP including the legal issues surrounding the former National Chairman of the party.
“I will not comment on matters that are already before the courts, especially where a person is facing a criminal trial,” he said.
Another lawyer, the SDP candidate, said rule of law must be allowed to prevail.
‘Well, I’m a lawyer, and I’m in a corner,’ said he. Once something is before the courts, especially when someone is facing the prospect of losing their liberty and being tried criminally, I think it would be unethical for me to comment.
‘But I hope the rule of law will prevail and a political settlement can be reached without compromising the need not to encourage criminality or say criminality is politics. “I think we should just let the law do its work.”
Adebayo said the disciplinary powers of the party must be exercised in accordance with the SDP constitution, adding that members facing disciplinary action also had a duty to respect party processes.
He said institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission and the police should not take sides in internal party matters but perform their duties fairly.
“If you want to discipline somebody you must follow the law and if you are facing disciplinary action you must respect it. If you are not happy, you can go to the appellate part of it. “Institutions like INEC and the police should not take sides, they should do their own duty.”
‘Taking Money Isn’t Politics’
On the allegation concerning N35 million and the decision to take the matter beyond internal party settlement Adebayo said allegations of financial misconduct should not be dismissed as mere politics.
But he said anyone accused of wrongdoing is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
He said, “What I can say as a lawyer is that someone is alleged to be involved in several amounts, maybe you’re mentioning just one, and the person has pleaded not guilty in a court of law. “The law requires me to presume the person is innocent and the accusers to provide evidence.
He warned against the use of political usefulness as a reason to shield anyone from accountability.
He said siding with an accused person because of political benefit would send the wrong signal just as condemning a suspect without trial would also amount to disrespect for the law.
“The best thing is to let the law take its course,” he said. Stealing money is not a laughing matter. “Breach of trust is not a joke. In the past, people were sent to jail for 20 naira, whereas today VIPs steal billions and still get applause. “Let’s throw away that attitude.
“Money is the property of an institution and if you had access to it because of your office, you have to be accountable.”
Adebayo was asked if he had spoken to supporters seen pulling down the gate of the party secretariat and he said he had not.
He said the police have questions to answer about what happened.
“No,” he replied. It is the police that are responsible for me because you don’t escort criminals to go and pull down gates.”
Asked if people came with the police, he said: ‘It’s the police who brought them and the police used them to pull down the gates because they didn’t want to do it themselves’.
But Adebayo said he was not present when the incident happened, noting that he only saw what happened on television after he had completed his screening and left the venue.
He said the party had written to the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police on the issue.
As per him, the party officials were waiting to see what action would be taken by the police authorities before taking the next step.
SDP is for the ordinary Nigerian – Adebayo
Adebayo said SDP is an acronym for Social Democratic Party and was formed to address the social and economic challenges facing ordinary Nigerians.
He said the SDP would focus on issues that affect families directly, such as food, transportation, health care, jobs, education and survival.
“The party’s agenda is ‘kitchen table’ politics. It is about the daily struggles of Nigerians, not elite political calculations,” he said.
“The SDP is the party that has solutions to your social problems without sounding too professorial,” Adebayo said. This is a party for regular people. Then you wake up in the morning and you think about feeding your family, transport costs, education, food, healthcare, jobs, survival, those are the issues social democratic parties focus on
That’s why it’s called the ‘kitchen table manifesto’ in some countries. It’s the day-to-day.”
He condemned the APC over the subsidy removal, saying a social democratic government would not take such a decision without considering its effect on transport, food, housing, jobs and people’s savings.
“A social democrat does not wake up and remove subsidies without thinking about the impact on transport, food, housing, jobs and people’s savings,” he said. But if you’re APC, you’re about winning elections and congratulating yourselves after.”
‘Hungry people don’t care about region’
On the argument that it would be difficult for him as a South-West candidate to defeat President Bola Tinubu, who is also from the same region, Adebayo also dismissed it.
He said SDP would not campaign on ethnic or regional sentiment.
“Nigerians facing hunger, high fuel prices, poor schools and economic hardship will not judge leadership on the basis of regional identity alone,” he said.
“I don’t think like that in SDP,” he said. A hungry person in the South West remains hungry. Buying petrol at those ridiculous prices, nobody will care about regional identity.
“The president is from the South West, a student who gets loans to attend schools where lecturers are not paid and laboratories are empty will not remember that.
The SDP candidate accused the APC of making politics about winning elections rather than governance outcomes.
He said Nigeria needed a party that would focus on social progress and not on ethnicity or religion.
‘APC Planting Moles In Opposition Parties
Adebayo also claimed that the APC was working to destabilize opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said the SDP had been infiltrated by political moles. He answered in the affirmative when asked.
We are working on that, he said. It is the wish of President Tinubu to be the only person in the race. But this is not unusual. “Also, during the time of Obasanjo, the PDP governments attacked opposition parties.
The SDP candidate said such activities were part of Nigeria’s long history of ruling parties trying to weaken opposition platforms.
But he said leadership is still important in helping party members understand the danger of transactional politics.
They’ll be there forever,” he said. The important thing is leadership and helping people understand that transactional politics may give temporary benefits but the long-term consequences are dangerous for the country.”
Adebayo said he was not directly in charge of the party’s operations, adding that his role as the presidential candidate was ideological and philosophical.
“Education Reforms Are Deformations”
Adebayo rejected the description of the policies as reforms, including lower cut-off marks and shortened routes for teacher training, on recent changes in the education sector.
He called them “deformations” and said the government was lowering standards in a way that would hurt the country’s future.
He said, “These are not reforms, they are deformations. The people in government are of the lowest quality and they want standards to fall because an educated population asks questions and challenges bad governance.”
Education, Adebayo argued, builds critical thinking and helps citizens rise above ethnicity, religion and political manipulation.
He blamed part of the problem on poor education policy that produced unemployable youths.
He said Nigeria needs to go back to a system where schools keep young people productively engaged from morning till evening through academic work, physical education, extracurricular activities, prep classes and exam coaching.
“The fix is not hard. In our time, public schools filled the students from dawn to dark with useful knowledge. We had physical education, extracurriculars, preparation classes and exam coaching. Society must find constructive ways of engaging young people
