With the echoes of applause still ringing from the APC’s national summit in Abuja, a question now reverberates across Nigeria: Who is government really serving—party faithfuls or struggling citizens?
That was the central challenge posed by Prince Adewole Adebayo, the Social Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, in a stinging critique aired on Daily Politics with Abdullahi Ahmed on Trust TV. While the ruling APC used the summit to hail President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and quietly launch his re-election bid, Adebayo called the event “a rally in disguise” and a dangerous step toward a one-party illusion.
“Governance is not theatre,” Adebayo declared. “The president is not a performer chasing applause. He’s a steward of national pain—and there’s plenty of it.”
Inside the summit hall, top APC figures like Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Smart Adeyemi urged Nigerians to embrace Tinubu for 2027 without contest, dismissing concerns about creeping authoritarianism. But outside that hall, Adebayo argued, the Nigerian story is starkly different.
“A mother in Chibok can’t feed her child. A jobless graduate in Katsina is still chasing hope. What’s being celebrated?”
His words struck at the heart of what many see as the government’s greatest flaw: a politics that never ends and a governance that never begins.
“The APC is running a permanent campaign. Every office is a trophy. Every moment is PR. Meanwhile, nothing changes.”
Adebayo’s warning was bigger than a political rivalry—it was a wake-up call about democratic erosion. With the APC increasingly crowding the political space and the opposition still scrambling for coherence, the fear of an unchallenged ruling party looms large.
But he rejected the idea that the answer lies in a rushed merger of opposition forces. Unity, he said, must be forged in shared purpose—not just pooled logos.
“Nigerians don’t care about party names. They want power that puts food on the table, not slogans. They want dignity, not drama.”
He cited unmet promises—especially Tinubu’s vow to resign if power supply didn’t improve—as signs of how performance is replaced by posturing.
“We still have no power. Farmers have no tools. Roads are breaking. Phones don’t work. But what we get instead of solutions is a standing ovation.”
Asked if the opposition was offering real alternatives, Adebayo flipped the script:
“People say we’re scattered. But who’s united in service? The people aren’t clapping for the government or the opposition. They’re holding their breath—and their wallets.”
He urged both opposition and ruling parties to return to the basics: protect rights, create jobs, end insecurity, and stop the performance politics.
“This isn’t about who wins 2027,” Adebayo said. “It’s about whether Nigeria still has space for real governance before then.”
As 2027 barrels closer, the applause inside party halls grows louder. But as Adebayo reminds the nation, outside those walls, Nigerians aren’t cheering—they’re waiting. And time, like power, is running out.