‘Farewell To Poverty’: Adebayo Unveils Production-First Agenda, Pledges End To Import Dependency By 2031

…proposes Bank of Electricity in economic shift

The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has unveiled an ambitious four-year economic plan aimed at reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imports and transforming the country into a production-driven economy by 2031.

The blueprint, titled Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity, represents a sharp break from the consumption-oriented policies that have long defined the nation’s economic trajectory.

Adebayo argued that Nigeria must move away from merely managing poverty and towards actively building productive capacity, creating wealth, and generating sustainable employment for its rapidly growing population.

The economic chapter of his agenda is anchored on five core principles: self-reliance and import substitution, full employment and poverty elimination, balanced regional development, speedy implementation, and strategic government intervention where private investment falls short. These pillars are designed to work in tandem, ensuring that no sector or region is left behind in the push for industrial renewal.

Adebayo’s proposal envisions a value-chain approach where farmers are not just producers of primary goods but active participants in processing and packaging. Adebayo stated that this shift would reduce the annual billions spent on food imports while positioning Nigeria as a net exporter of processed agricultural commodities to regional and global markets.

To achieve this agricultural transformation, Adebayo’s economic blueprint proposes expanded irrigation, mechanization, improved seeds, fertilizer access, credit facilities, and extension services, alongside the establishment of agro-processing hubs across the six geopolitical zones.

He added “These hubs are intended to serve as focal points for rural development, reducing post-harvest losses and connecting smallholder farmers directly to industrial buyers. By decentralizing processing capacity, the plan also aims to curb rural-urban migration and stimulate economic activity in underserved communities. Beyond agriculture, the plan calls for regional industrial clusters focused on sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, automobile assembly, electronics, and building materials. Small and medium-sized enterprises would receive improved access to affordable credit, guarantee schemes, and technical support to foster innovation and scale production”.

One of the plan’s most striking proposal is the establishment of a Bank of Electricity, a dedicated financing institution that would provide long-term, single-digit-interest loans for distributed power generation and the local production of transformers, meters, cables, solar panels, batteries, and other electrical equipment.

This initiative addresses Nigeria’s chronic power deficit, which has stifled industrial growth for decades. By funding both off-grid solutions and domestic manufacturing of energy components, the bank aims to lower production costs, attract foreign investment, and reduce the economy’s vulnerability to grid collapses.

Adebayo also proposes developing a domestic automobile industry, arguing that Nigeria’s economic policies should tackle major sources of foreign-exchange outflows beyond food imports. He maintains that local vehicle production could significantly reduce dollar demand while creating thousands of skilled jobs and strengthening ancillary industries like steel, rubber, and electronics. Employment creation is further positioned as a central objective, with dedicated programmes targeting small businesses, young people, and women, alongside efforts to redirect the financial sector towards agriculture, manufacturing, and infrastructure through cheaper credit and stronger development-finance institutions.

Overall, Adebayo’s blueprint seeks to make production, rather than consumption and import dependence, the foundation of Nigeria’s economy. The SDP candidate presents the 2027–2031 period as a critical window of opportunity to begin a major, irreversible shift towards self-reliance and industrial development. While the plan is undeniably bold, its success would hinge on disciplined implementation, political will, and sustained private-sector collaboration—factors that have often undermined similar visions in the past. Nonetheless, Adebayo’s proposal injects a vital conversation into Nigeria’s political discourse: whether the country can finally break its dependency cycle and build an economy that truly works for its citizens.