66th anniversary: Adebayo urges Nigerians to resist election rigging, vote trading

As Nigeria marks its 66th Independence Anniversary, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has issued a fierce, uncompromising call to the Nigerian electorate “to aggressively resist and reject election rigging and vote trading as the nation head toward the crucial 2027 general elections.”

In a anniversary message, Adebayo warned that Nigeria’s hard-fought democracy is actively being choked to death by systematic electoral corruption. He noted that the current political trajectory under the All Progressives Congress (APC) has completely derailed from the visions of the nation’s founding fathers.

Adebayo provided a stark historical perspective on how electoral malpractice undermines good governance. He reminded Nigerians that the collapse of previous republics and the subsequent decades of brutal military dictatorships were the direct consequences of politicians subverting the true will of the people.

“History has shown us that when you steal the vote, you steal the destiny of the nation,” Adebayo stated. “Election rigging is not a victimless political game. It is a violent assault on the sovereignty of the citizens.

“It installs illegitimate leaders who feel no accountability to the public. This lack of accountability explains why our hospitals remain broken, our schools are crumbling, and our economy is in shambles. Bad governance is the direct, poisonous fruit of rigged elections.”

The SDP candidate did not hold back in his assessment of the current administration. He described the ruling APC’s governance style as fundamentally anti-democratic and deeply damaging to the fabric of Nigerian society.

“The way the APC is ruling this country is, for the most part, completely anti-democratic,” Adebayo declared. “We are witnessing the weaponization of poverty, where citizens are deliberately impoverished so they can be bought cheaply at the polling booths.

“Economic policies are deployed without human empathy. Dissent is suppressed, and the judiciary is constantly subjected to political influence. This is not the democracy our heroes fought for; this is a civilian autocracy masquerading as a republic.”

“This is a  strict warning to INEC that there is no room for “Glitches” in 2027.”  Looking forward to the 2027 general elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo emphasized that Nigerians must make it abundantly clear that vote rigging will no longer be tolerated under any guise. He issued a stern, unequivocal warning to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).