The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has described the turnout at the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) campaign flag-off in Oyo town as a sign of growing rejection of the party and its governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, ahead of the 2027 elections.
SSACO, which is backing Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, said the attendance at Saturday’s rally contradicted the APM’s claim to have significant grassroots support across the state.
APM had formally commenced its 2027 campaign at the Durbar Stadium in Oyo town on Saturday, with Adekanmbi leading the party’s governorship campaign alongside other candidates contesting National and State Assembly seats.
The party had earlier said the campaign would be issue-based, peaceful and focused on consolidating the achievements of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.
Reacting to the rally, SSACO’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, said the turnout, which he described as embarrassing, showed that the APM had failed to establish meaningful popularity among voters in Oyo State.
According to him, the outcome also reinforced the APC campaign’s earlier position that the APM lacked the grassroots structure required to win the 2027 governorship election.
“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,” Oladele said.
He alleged that the rally was the product of months of mobilisation involving supporters from the state’s 33 local government areas but failed to attract the expected crowd.
Oladele also accused Makinde of committing state resources to Adekanmbi’s governorship ambition and his own presidential bid, describing Saturday’s turnout as a political setback for both men.
He linked the alleged poor turnout to what he described as dissatisfaction with the Makinde administration, particularly in agriculture, youth development, industrialisation and rural infrastructure.
“Will the people at the grassroots across the 33 local governments of Oyo State forget how they have been robbed of democracy dividends in the last seven and half years?” he asked.
The SSACO spokesman further stated that rural roads and damaged bridges had suffered neglect because of what he called paralysed local government councils under the current administration.
Oladele said the turnout should serve as a warning to Makinde and Adekanmbi that voters would judge the administration’s record when they go to the polls.
He also drew a contrast between Makinde’s message at the rally and the reaction he claimed the crowd represented.
Makinde, who is also the APM presidential candidate, told supporters that the 2027 election would be a contest between the APC and Nigerians, predicting that voters would give the ruling party an unprecedented electoral setback.
Oladele said the governor’s statement was ironic because, according to him, the Oyo rally had instead sent a message to Makinde about the declining acceptance of his political platform.
“Your time is over; therefore, your stooge does not stand a chance,” he quoted the electorate as saying.
The APC campaign organisation said Senator Alli, if elected governor, would restore local government autonomy, work with the Federal Government and address what it described as deficiencies in the Makinde administration through Alli’s proposed Oyo AHEAD agenda.
