It’s Vote-buying Trick – SDP Candidate Faults FG’s N70,000 Transport Wage
The 2027 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has accused the Federal Government of using its proposed N70,000 transport allowance for public sector workers to gain political support ahead of forthcoming elections.
Adebayo described the six-month payment plan as a political gimmick, arguing that the intervention would not address the economic difficulties facing Nigerian workers.
The SDP chieftain made his position known in a statement issued on Thursday by Mark Adebayo, Chief Media and Communications Adviser to the party’s Presidential Campaign Council.
He questioned the timing of the government’s decision, describing the proposed allowance as a “sudden Greek gift”.
“Your N70,000 transport intervention for Nigerian workers is vote-buying by trick,” he said.
Adebayo argued that the temporary intervention would offer little relief from the rising cost of living, insisting that workers needed sustainable improvements in their earnings rather than short-term financial support.
He also criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, accusing it of relying on temporary measures instead of implementing lasting solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
“This fire-brigade approach to governance is proof that the APC administration completely lacks sustainable ideas for Nigeria’s development,” he said.
The SDP presidential candidate maintained that sustainable economic growth would require investment in infrastructure, wealth-creation policies and measures to improve workers’ purchasing power.
He pledged that, if elected president, his administration would restructure the economy, provide workers with a sustainable living wage and implement policies to reduce poverty and insecurity.
Adebayo said his policy blueprint, titled Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity, outlined his proposals for transforming the economy and improving the living conditions of Nigerians.
“I have the best plans for the total and complete socioeconomic transformation of Nigeria and I am the best prepared and capable among all the presidential candidates,” he said.
Similarly, former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, had earlier also criticised the N70,000 transport allowance for public service workers, describing it as a temporary intervention that would do little to ease Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku said the allowance would purchase only about 50 litres of petrol at an estimated price of N1,400 per litre.
The ADC presidential candidate argued that the six-month intervention highlighted the government’s failure to address the broader economic hardship affecting households and businesses.
The Federal Government announced the N70,000 transport allowance on Tuesday following a conciliation meeting in Abuja between government representatives and leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Under the agreement, the payments are expected to begin in November and continue for six months.
The government also approved the payment of outstanding peculiar allowance arrears dating back to May 1, 2026. The arrears are to be paid in three equal monthly instalments beginning in November.
The proposed transport allowance has also drawn criticism from organised labour, with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) describing the arrangement as unsustainable and calling for an increase in workers’ salaries.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, TUC President Festus Osifo and Secretary-General Nuhu Toro urged the government to prioritise improved wages and fulfil outstanding agreements with health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).
