Former presidential flagbearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has launched a sharp critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, portraying his style of leadership as imperial rather than service-driven.
Adebayo made the remarks on Sunday, the 9th of February, 2026, while appearing on Hard Copy, a political interview programme aired on Channels Television, where he spoke at length about Nigeria’s political climate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
During the discussion, the SDP chieftain argued that President Tinubu does not see the presidency as an office defined by active governance or public service. Instead, he suggested that the president views his role as one of dominance and control, exercised through a vast network of loyalists.
According to Adebayo, Tinubu’s approach departs from the ideals of servant leadership, replacing them with a structure where authority is centralised and power is broadly consolidated across political, economic and administrative spheres.
In his words, “President Tinubu is not going to work. He’s not used to working. He’s going to reign. He’s not a working president.
“He’s an emperor with so many servants. So his interpretation of that office is not a servant-leader coming to work for you.
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“He’s an emperor at the apogee of his power that wants to give Nigeria a Tinubu singularity where political power is combined with economic power, business power and administrative power.
“And then he has lieutenants sent as emissaries to different parts of the county and taking over things and bringing into that empire,” Adebayo said.
The comments add to growing political debates around governance, power concentration, and leadership philosophy as parties and aspirants begin to position themselves for the next electoral cycle.