The Presidential Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adebayo Adewole, has called on President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to expel party members accused of promoting violent political rhetoric, warning that failure to act would make the party collectively responsible.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Adewole said the use of violent language by politicians was dangerous, particularly as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, and urged the president to publicly condemn such statements and ensure that those responsible face sanctions.
“So I expect the APC to expel Fadahunsi and any of these people. If they don’t, they are collectively responsible.”
Adewole was reacting to comments attributed to Senator Fadahunsi, who he said had attempted to dismiss a call for violence against members of the Accord Party as political language. “Kill means kill. So what do you think of that? And I said earlier on that he’s not alone. Well, what I think on a broader scale is that one, I condemn the statement I created to the Senator. And I condemn the general use of violence. And violence in public life includes violence language.”
Adewole said violence in public life extends beyond physical attacks to the promotion of violence through political statements. “Well, what I can say is to call on President Bola Tinubu to be a responsible head of state, to be a responsible party leader, and to make sure that all across Nigeria that he sends a signal to his supporters that all is not fair in politics and all is not fair even in war.”
He likened the danger posed by political incitement to the role of propaganda and inflammatory rhetoric in historical conflicts. “If you recall what happened in Rwanda, most of those who contributed to the genocide did not actually use their own hand to kill anyone. But by calling other people approaches, they need to be eliminated and things like that. Then the response was inciting the thousands.”
He argued that political leaders must set clear limits for their supporters and reject the idea that electoral contests justify any form of conduct. “If you look at the Geneva Convention, it is to put a stop to saying that all is fair in war. Even in warfare, there’s a limit, not to talk about politics.”
Adewole also criticised the police response to allegations of inflammatory political statements. “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 the situation was particularly concerning in Osun State, where he claimed more than 40 people had already lost their lives. “And in Osun State in particular, more than 40 people have lost their lives. The body count keeps going up from all parts of the state. And that is not a joke.”
Adewole warned that political violence in Osun should not be treated lightly, recalling historical violence in the area and the circumstances surrounding the killing of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Bola Ige. “And in that particular area, if you recall, that was the beginning of the violence in this first republic, and also, that’s where Bola Ige started having the situation that led to his assassination, because he was at Efe in that Osun East. And then somebody came and removed his cap at a political rally. And they were showing violence to him. And that was the beginning of the end.”
The SDP candidate urged Tinubu to take responsibility for the political atmosphere ahead of 2027 and make it clear that inflammatory language and violence would not be tolerated. “And the president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, needs to be responsible. He needs to be a serious adult in the room and talk to his people that tongue-grabbing, bad language, violence will not be tolerated, especially as we’re heading towards 2027.”
Adewole said the violence and alleged irregularities surrounding the Osun governorship election should serve as a warning ahead of the 2027 general elections. “The lesson we can learn is that 2027 should not be like Osun elections. Because if it is, we are starting on the wrong footing.”
He said preparations for credible elections must begin long before election day, arguing that the atmosphere created by political parties, INEC, the police and other agencies would determine the credibility of the eventual polls. “It’s because election goes beyond what happens on election day. Election starts from the atmosphere prior to the election.”
Adewole said INEC and security agencies should begin establishing the standards for the 2027 elections early rather than waiting until the eve of the polls. “So I believe that by October 1, when we’re having the wonderful memory of our independence, INEC should already have set the tone for the 2027 election.”
“The police should already have set the tone, and all other agencies that are relevant to the election for 2027 should already have set the tone and started to enforce the new rules, the new environment.”
Adewole contrasted the approach he attributed to former President Goodluck Jonathan with what he described as the political philosophy of the current administration, arguing that leaders’ words can influence the conduct of their followers. “You know, leadership is by itself about inspiration. Most countries rise or fall by the verbiage of their leadership.”
He praised Jonathan for prioritising the safety of Nigerians over his personal political ambition. “He lived up to it. He did make sure that there was no violence in his election, and that where he lost, he gave up and did not allow his personal ambition to become an apathos or a killing field.”
Adewole described the contrasting approach as a question of leadership philosophy, saying political contests should not be treated as battles in which victory must be secured at all costs. “So these are two contrasting philosophies of leadership. So I think that President Unugu’s own approach to politics, electioneering, is a bit too violent, too drastic, and too desperate.”
He said his own approach to governance would be to promote peaceful and lawful elections and prevent political power from being used to manipulate institutions. “I will make sure that my language and what I communicate to my followers and to the rest of the country, because we’re all followers of the president, once you are the president of the country, is that we should be a civilised society, elections should not be do or die, and that politics should be done by fair and reasonable and lawful means.”
Adewole said an SDP administration would seek institutional reforms aimed at reducing government influence over electoral and law enforcement agencies. “In addition to the verbiage also, I will go further to put in place measures that will ensure that INEC is independent of the government.”
He also promised to remove law enforcement agencies from direct political control. “I will put in place measures that will ensure that law enforcement is outside the control of the government.”
Adewole said he would not personally appoint the INEC chairman and commissioners if elected 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 further proposed a different institutional arrangement for the Attorney-General of the Federation, arguing that the office should be independent of the executive. “The attorney general should be the lawyer for the entire country, independent of the government.”
Adewole said the broader objective would be to build institutions capable of protecting democratic processes regardless of which political party controls the presidency. “So when we do all of these things and we change our language and we change the means by which we free the civil society and make the country to be a civilised one, that is when the best of us can come out.”
He returned to the principle that political ambition should never be allowed to cost Nigerians their lives or security. “I think that the philosophy that no ambition should consume the blood or sweat or anxiety of any Nigerian is one in which we should be brought to a practical, institutional, and political reality in this our generation.”
On the Osun governorship election, Adewole acknowledged that the late recognition of the SDP candidate had damaged the party’s chances but said it would still participate in the election. “Well, we’ve been damaged. You cannot deny that.”
He said the SDP had repeatedly faced what it regarded as obstacles during elections and would continue campaigning despite them. “But the principle for which we stand and the spirit of the party is to operate from a position of disadvantage.”
Adewole said the party had also experienced problems with the uploading of its polling agents during previous elections. “They did the same thing for us in the Ekiti. They did not upload a single agent for us in the Ekiti. We are the tribunal there.”
He said the party would nevertheless urge its supporters to vote for the SDP and resist pressure to abandon the party because of its disadvantaged position. “Our job is to keep pushing the social democracy agenda. So we cannot give up and say, well, INX has technically knocked us out of the election. Therefore, we would despair.”
He urged SDP supporters to remain committed to the party’s platform. “So right now, our mode is to tell our members, don’t sign your votes. Don’t go and follow any of these bad options. Support the SDP.”
Adewole also called on INEC to ensure that SDP agents were properly accredited and deployed to polling units, saying the absence of agents would undermine the party’s ability to independently verify the conduct of the election. “And we’ll call on INEC to put our agents tags quickly and print them out and meet our agents because that will be the ultimate injury.”
He said the party would continue pushing for political participation despite what he described as a system that was resistant to new political ideas. “We know that we’re operating, even in the presidential election, in all elections, we’re operating from the point of view that Nigerian politics does not want new blood, fresh blood, new ideas. But we will keep pushing until ultimately we get victory.”
Adewole said the SDP would therefore participate in the Osun election and urged Nigerians to identify its logo on the ballot. “So we will participate and I encourage our members to participate, we will not be discouraged.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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