‘Your time is over; your stooge has no chance’,  Alli campaign group tells Makinde

The campaign organisation of Senator Sharafadeen Alli has accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of backing an unpopular governorship candidate, following what it described as poor attendance at the African People’s Movement (APM) campaign rally in Oyo town.

The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) said the turnout at Saturday’s rally showed that the APM governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, lacked the grassroots support needed to win the 2027 election.

The rally, held at Durbar Stadium, Oyo, was organised to formally launch Adekanmbi’s governorship campaign alongside those of other APM candidates contesting National and State Assembly seats.

In a statement on Sunday, the organisation’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, said the attendance, including the absence of some candidates, reinforced the position of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state that the APM lacked widespread appeal.

Oladele alleged that Makinde was using state resources to support Adekanmbi’s ambition and pursue what he called an unrealistic presidential project.

“The embarrassing poor attendance at the Oyo State APM governorship campaign flag-off in Oyo town on Saturday was another confirmation that Oyo State people have rejected the party’s governorship candidate, Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, and his sponsor, Governor Seyi Makinde,” he said.

The group also accused the Makinde administration of neglecting agriculture, youth development, industrialisation and rural infrastructure during its seven and a half years in office.

It alleged that poor attention to rural roads and damaged bridges had been worsened by what it described as paralysed local government councils.

Oladele said the rally turnout was a reflection of public dissatisfaction with the state government, adding that residents would not forget what he called the failure to deliver democratic dividends.

He also referred to Makinde’s remarks at the rally that Nigerians would give the APC a political shock in the 2027 elections.

“Interestingly, Governor Seyi Makinde told the little crowd that Nigerians will show APC in the 2027 elections what it has not seen before,” Oladele said.

He added, “Oyo State people used Saturday’s campaign to tell Governor Makinde what he was not ready to hear — your time is over; therefore, your stooge does not stand a chance.”

The organisation said Alli, if elected governor, would strengthen local government administration, work with the Federal Government and address what it described as shortcomings of the Makinde administration through his Oyo AHEAD agenda.