By Aaron ossai
Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has accused President Bola Tinubu of undermining Nigeria’s democratic process and turning the country’s electoral system into what he described as “Option A-Fraud.”
Speaking on the state of democracy and Nigeria’s political transition process, Adebayo warned that the country was gradually sliding toward authoritarianism under civilian rule.
Referencing the historic Option A4 voting system introduced during Nigeria’s Third Republic, the SDP chieftain said the once-transparent electoral model had allegedly been manipulated for political gain.
According to Adebayo, the original Option A4 system was widely respected because voters openly queued behind candidates while votes were counted transparently at polling units.
“When Professor Omo Omoruyi and others developed democratic studies during the Third Republic and Humphrey Nwosu implemented Option A4, it was done because it was basic and transparent,” he said.
He alleged that the current administration had distorted that legacy through electoral manipulation.
“Did anybody believe that President Tinubu can turn Option A4 into Option A-Fraud, where you announce 11 million votes when the people physically present are not even close to that figure?” Adebayo asked.
The SDP presidential hopeful claimed vote figures were being inflated in ways that “defied logic and arithmetic.”
“You count one, two, three, four and suddenly jump to ninety-nine,” he said, describing the process as “elliptical arithmetic.”
He also alleged that the administration was centralising power and weakening democratic institutions to expand political dominance across the country.
According to him, the President was seeking influence beyond the ruling party by allegedly exerting control over opposition parties and key institutions.
“He wants to belong to every political party, control every political party, control INEC and dictate who emerges,” Adebayo alleged.
The SDP leader urged Nigerians not to underestimate what he described as a growing threat to democracy, insisting the issue extended beyond partisan politics.
“This is no longer about party differences or ideology. It is about preventing Nigeria from becoming the personal estate of one man,” he said.
Adebayo further accused the government of fueling internal crises within opposition parties to weaken resistance ahead of future elections.
He referenced the recent controversy involving the SDP national secretariat, alleging that security agencies were used to intimidate the party and support individuals he described as government-backed actors.
The SDP candidate called on political parties, civil society groups, the media and young Nigerians to defend democratic institutions and resist what he termed “a prolonged coronation disguised as an election.”
“This is the fight of our generation,” Adebayo stated. “Once Nigerians defeat this idea of one-man control, nobody will attempt it again.”
