The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Prince Adebayo Adewole, has challenged President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to demonstrate their commitment to peaceful elections by ensuring that political violence is met with arrests and prosecution, rather than speeches and peace accords.
Adewole’s intervention comes amid heightened political tension in Osun State, where he alleged that violence, intimidation and the alleged deployment of state institutions for political purposes were creating an atmosphere capable of threatening the 2027 general elections.
For the SDP candidate, the warning signs extend beyond what happens at polling stations. He argued that the credibility of an election is shaped months before voters cast their ballots, particularly by the language of political leaders and the conduct of their supporters.
“Election goes beyond what happens on election day. Election starts from the atmosphere prior to the election,” Adewole said.
He consequently placed a responsibility on Tinubu, both as President and leader of the APC, to draw a clear line against violence and intimidation by members and supporters of the ruling party.
“I call on President Bola Tinubu to be a responsible head of state and a responsible party leader, and to make sure that all across Nigeria, he sends a signal to his supporters that all is not fair in politics, and all is not fair even in war,” he said.
Adewole questioned the value of repeated political peace agreements when the conduct of politicians and their supporters allegedly contradicts the commitments contained in such accords.
He listed intimidation, vote buying, electoral manipulation and inflammatory political rhetoric among practices capable of destroying public confidence in elections.
“There is no point going around signing peace accords… and then following the peace accord with non-peaceful language, non-peaceful methods, unfair systems, rigging, vote buying and all kinds of intimidation,” he said.
According to him, the credibility of government’s response should be judged by whether suspects are brought before the courts.
“As for the police, they don’t need to tell us what they are doing. We just need to see the man in court. That’s how you know that you are actually taking action,” he said.
Adewole claimed that more than 40 people had been killed in Osun State and warned that allowing political violence to go unchecked could transform electoral competition into a cycle of retaliation.
“Violence begets violence. That is how an election becomes warfare,” he said.
The SDP candidate also turned attention to the language used by political leaders, arguing that inflammatory rhetoric could encourage supporters to believe that violence was acceptable in pursuit of political objectives.
“Leadership is by itself about inspiration. Most countries rise and fall by the verbiage of their leadership,” he said.
Adewole argued that if even armed conflicts were subject to rules, political contests should have no justification for crossing the boundaries of peaceful democratic competition.
“If we’re in warfare, there’s a limit, not to talk of politics,” he added.
Beyond condemning violence, Adewole proposed reforms designed to reduce the influence of the presidency over institutions responsible for elections, policing and justice.
He said that if elected, he would not personally appoint the chairman and board members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), arguing that the process should produce an electoral body capable of operating independently of the president.
“In my own case, I will make sure that the INEC chairman and the INEC board of commissioners are not chosen by me,” he said.
He similarly advocated greater independence for the police and Attorney-General, maintaining that institutions entrusted with protecting democracy should not be perceived as instruments of presidential power.
Adewole promised a zero-tolerance approach to political violence, saying anyone within his party or support structure found to be involved in violent activities would face expulsion.
“As president of Nigeria, I would never promote violence. I would prefer to condemn it. And I will expel anyone from my party or support group who has any hint of violence,” he declared.
He said Nigeria needed to replace a political culture built around fear and intimidation with one in which disputes were settled through democratic institutions.
“We will change our language, we will change the means by which we free civil society and make the country a civilised one. That is where the best of us can come out,” he said.
Adewole’s central message was that political power must not come at the cost of human life.
“I think that the philosophy that no ambition should consume the blood, sweat or anxiety of any Nigerian is one which should be brought to practical, institutional and political reality in this generation,” he said.