The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has criticised Nigeria’s reliance on palliatives and short-term interventions, calling for a major shift towards a production-driven economy that creates jobs, expands opportunities and improves the living conditions of citizens.
The party made the call in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
While celebrating Nigeria’s survival and resilience since independence, the SDP said the anniversary should also serve as a moment for sober reflection on the country’s development challenges.
The party argued that Nigeria possesses enormous human and natural resources capable of transforming the country, but said successive governments had not sufficiently harnessed the available potential.
The SDP said governance must move beyond what it described as “high-profile policy announcements and mandate preservation sloganeering” and focus on measures that deliver tangible benefits to Nigerians.
According to the party, priorities should include economic revitalisation, fair distribution of resources, food security, livelihood development and expansion of opportunities for citizens.
It also questioned whether the economic reforms and recovery figures being celebrated by government had translated sufficiently into improved socio-economic conditions for Nigerians.
The party called for practical measures to tackle poverty, strengthen the judiciary and rule of law, improve fiscal transparency and address the country’s infrastructure deficit.
It further urged a transition from what it described as a “palliative economy” to a productive economy driven by investment, manufacturing and job creation.
“We cannot continue this unsustainable regime of subsidising corruption using borrowed funds; unmitigated corruption; unhealthy culture of rent-seeking and over-reliance on foreign institutions, and short-term emergency reliefs of distribution of grains, palliatives and cash-transfers,” the party said.
The SDP called for greater investment in local manufacturing, small and medium-scale enterprises, agriculture and its value chains, energy and transportation.
It said strengthening these sectors would help expand economic opportunities and reduce dependence on emergency interventions.
The party also pledged to pursue governance policies focused on education, youth empowerment, rural development and social inclusion, saying the approach would move the country from “poverty management” towards shared prosperity.
On the 2027 general election, the SDP said Nigerians would have another opportunity to determine the direction of the country and pursue what it described as a new chapter of national transformation.
The party said its objective was to change the narrative of Nigeria as a resource-rich nation struggling with widespread poverty into one where the country’s resources generate opportunities and better living conditions for its citizens.
The SDP also endorsed the presidential ticket of Prince Adewole Adebayo and Dr Usman Bugaje, describing the duo as offering its proposed pathway to national transformation.
