The Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has challenged Governor Seyi Makinde and Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) governorship candidate Bimbo Adekanmbi to explain the unresolved governance failures in Oyo State, rather than accusing the APC candidate of copying government policies.
SSACO made the position in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, in response to claims by Makinde and Adekanmbi that Senator Sharafadeen Alli’s newly unveiled Oyo AHEAD manifesto borrowed substantially from policies of the Makinde administration.
Alli, the APC governorship candidate for the 2027 Oyo State election, unveiled the manifesto in Ibadan on Tuesday.
The blueprint is built around seven policy areas, including local government autonomy, infrastructure, healthcare, education and employment, agriculture and export, the digital economy and security.
SSACO dismissed the copying allegation as baseless, arguing that Alli’s proposals were informed by his experience in public service and his assessment of the challenges confronting the state.
“You cannot copy what you have lived,” the organisation said, citing Alli’s previous positions as council chairman, Secretary to the State Government and Chief of Staff, as well as his current role as a serving senator.
According to the campaign organisation, Makinde and Adekanmbi have failed to address the substantive issues raised in the manifesto, particularly local government administration, healthcare and education.
On local government, SSACO said Oyo’s 33 councils had received about ₦873 billion in allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) since 2019, but alleged that council budgets were not published online.
The organisation said Alli’s proposed response would be an executive order on his first day in office to strengthen local government autonomy, ensure councils receive their funds on a fixed date and facilitate monthly remittance of the 10 per cent of state revenue due to local governments.
Local government autonomy is one of the central pillars of the Oyo AHEAD agenda, with Alli promising to restore financial, administrative and political independence to the state’s 33 councils.
SSACO also highlighted what it described as serious deficiencies in the state’s healthcare system.
It claimed that six local government areas had no general hospital, while six general hospitals had no doctor as of October and another 10 had only one doctor each.
The organisation further alleged that primary healthcare centres in the state had an average of about three workers, compared with a national standard of 24.
It said Alli’s proposed Oyo Care programme would provide free healthcare for infants, pregnant women and residents aged 70 and above, alongside continuous recruitment of health workers, improved hospital equipment, adequate medicines and solar power for rural maternity facilities.
Alli’s publicly released manifesto similarly promises free healthcare for children and pregnant women, expanded health insurance, upgraded hospitals and PHCs, mobile clinics and dedicated care for residents aged above 70.
Education is another area where SSACO said the administration should provide answers rather than focus on the alleged similarities between the two political programmes.
The organisation cited figures which it attributed to the state’s school census, claiming that some public primary classrooms accommodate about 100 pupils and that approximately 674,000 children aged three to 17 are out of school in Oyo State.
It also said seven out of every 10 children aged seven to 14 could not perform basic mathematical operations.
In response, Alli’s manifesto promises to reduce class sizes to 30 pupils, recruit additional teachers, rehabilitate schools across the 33 local government areas, establish scholarships for disadvantaged but gifted children and introduce an apprenticeship law.
Beyond education and healthcare, Oyo AHEAD proposes a ₦10 billion youth fund, agricultural reforms, affordable housing, infrastructure development and a 20-year standard for newly constructed roads.
Alli has also pledged to make Oyo one of Nigeria’s three largest state economies and raise internally generated revenue to ₦150 billion annually without imposing additional financial burdens on residents and businesses.
SSACO accused the Makinde administration of making claims about Oyo being Nigeria’s most liveable state without producing the supporting report, publisher or methodology.
It also rejected any suggestion that proposals such as one primary healthcare centre per ward amounted to evidence that Alli had copied the administration.
“That is not implementation. That is abandonment,” the organisation said.
SSACO further described Adekanmbi as representing “continuity” rather than political change, alleging that his candidacy would perpetuate centralisation and “government-as-business.”
“Oyo AHEAD is a correction. It is a covenant,” the campaign organisation declared, insisting that it would continue to focus attention on issues it considers critical to the welfare of residents.
