The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has cautioned Nigerians against embracing what he described as “recycled politicians” emerging within opposition ranks ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Adebayo argued that many individuals now positioning themselves as opposition leaders were previously part of administrations that contributed to Nigeria’s current political and economic challenges.

He stressed that replacing the administration of Bola Tinubu with politicians who had held power in the past without addressing key national issues would not deliver the change Nigerians seek.

“Several politicians now presenting themselves as opposition figures had opportunities in the past to reform governance and improve the electoral process but failed to do so,” he said.

Adebayo specifically criticised some politicians who recently joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), noting that many spent years in government without introducing meaningful reforms.

“If you were in the Senate for 20 years and didn’t bring a single progressive law to improve elections, you cannot suddenly present yourself as the champion of electoral reform,” he said.

The SDP chieftain also affirmed that his party would not form alliances with such politicians, warning that doing so would contradict the principles and values the SDP claims to uphold.

“If I work with them as presently constituted, then I am a hypocrite because these same people represent the bad governance we are fighting,” he said.

Adebayo further urged that Nigeria’s political future should be driven by ordinary citizens seeking genuine reform, rather than a contest between rival groups of elite politicians. He added that opposition parties should focus on presenting credible leaders and policy alternatives, not merely building coalitions aimed solely at defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“You cannot remove one group responsible for the problem and replace them with another group that helped create the same problem,” he concluded.