2027: Makinde predicts APM victory, welcomes APC defectors

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Monday, assured that victory is assured for the Allied People’s Movement in the 2027 general elections, noting that God, the people of Oyo State, and Nigerians at large are firmly behind the party.

He gave the assurance during the Boye Nation/JAF Movement Mega Concert, held at the Open Tennis Court of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan, where he formally received thousands of defectors from the All Progressives Congress into the APM.

The defectors, led by Ajiboye Sangogade (Boye Nation), personal assistant and loyalist to former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, were drawn from several local government areas across the state.

Speaking at the rally, Makinde advised the APC governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Alli, to channel his efforts towards contesting against the APM candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, rather than criticising his administration.

He reiterated his earlier position that Alli is a mediocre lawyer, adding that the people of Oyo would not allow the state to regress.

The governor urged the APC governorship candidate to focus on persuading the electorate to support him, though he expressed confidence that voters would choose Adekanmbi, a certified accountant, over Alli, whom he described as a lawyer with no record of success in legal practice.

The governor also addressed criticisms that, as an engineer, he powers streetlights with diesel generators.

He noted that if the APC-led Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu had successfully resolved Nigeria’s electricity challenges, the situation would have been different.

Makinde reminded Nigerians of Tinubu’s campaign promise that he should not be re-elected if he failed to fix the nation’s power problem.

He said: “God has signed off on what we are doing, and that is why it is raining. Today, we are welcoming thousands of APC members into the APM, and this shows that our victory is only a matter of time. We will win massively in all elections in 2027.

“This is why I encourage the APC governorship candidate, Senator Alli, to focus his energy on convincing the people of Oyo to support him despite the hardship brought upon them by his party. He should focus on the APM governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, instead of attacking our administration.

“He said I am an engineer, yet we power streetlights with diesel. I believe he is pained because I said he is an unsuccessful lawyer. But where is the lie?

“I am an engineer and a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers — meaning I have excelled in my chosen career. The candidate we are presenting to you, Adekanmbi, is a graduate of Accounting and a professional who is also a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the highest qualification in the profession.

“Ask Alli if he has any recognition in his own profession. He is not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

“On powering streetlights with diesel generators, remind them that their leader was the one who said that if he didn’t fix Nigeria’s electricity problem within his first four years, no one should vote for him again. If he had fulfilled that promise, we would not be powering streetlights with diesel.”

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The concert, themed “Young, United, Unstoppable,” served as the official reception for Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, and his supporters into the APM.

The mega concert featured performances by Fuji stars including Alhaji Taye Currency, Alhaji Tiri Leather, Babatunmise, Ajeseun Band, and Aare Rasaq Ayanfe, among others.

Dignitaries at the event were top government officials including the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Musibau Babatunde; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Segun Ogunwuyi; serving members of the House of Representatives and the state House of Assembly, commissioners, APM leaders and other government functionaries.

Also present were the three APM senatorial candidates, Dhikrullahi Olajide (Oyo South), Shina Peller (Oyo North), and Ajadi Oguntoyinbo (Oyo Central), as well as 14 APM House of Representatives candidates, 32 APM House of Assembly candidates, and the 33 APM local government chairmanship candidates.

APC tags rally shameful

Speaking on the rally, the APC described it as shameful.

The party, in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, in Ibadan, the state capital, said it further exposed the Makinde administration’s insensitivity to public outcry as well as aversion to decent practices.

It berated the governor over alleged forceful closure of many markets in Ibadan and coercion of traders, commercial motorists and other residents to attend the rally.

APC said, “At a time questions were being asked on what Makinde did at Adamasingba Stadium to justify the whopping N5.5bn cost of rehabilitation in view of the fact that the Confederation of African Football recently rejected the facility for its matches, the same stadium was turned into a campaign ground where APM members converged to enjoy Fuji music.

“Unfortunately, this happened when several thousands of soccer enthusiasts were mourning the early exit of their darling Shooting Stars Sports Club from the ongoing Confederation Cup.

“Experts have also attributed the Oluyole Warriors’ elimination by a Tunisian Club (CS Sfaxien) to the first-leg match, which was played in Abeokuta, Ogun State, instead of Ibadan because the Ibadan stadium was declared ‘too bad’ by a CAF inspection team earlier in June this year.

“Rather than refund the N5.5bn misappropriated in the name of Adamasingba Stadium rehabilitation and re-award the project to a competent contractor in a transparent manner, the governor continued to rub insults on the injury of the people.

“Many people have condemned the sordid job done on the Ibadan stadium, but the Makinde administration defies them in what has been described as another show of impunity and recklessness.”