The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has described the rejection of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde by leaders of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in the South-South as further evidence that his alleged presidential ambition is “dead on arrival”.
In a newspaper advertorial published on Wednesday, APM leaders in the South-South passed a vote of no confidence in Makinde, accusing the governor of lacking the substance, political will, and focus required to lead the party.
APM stakeholders also questioned Makinde’s credibility, alleging he entered the party with false promises and has since shown what they described as dishonesty, political compromise, and incompetence.
“If he cannot be honest to his party men, how can he be honest to Nigerians he aspires to lead?” the APM leaders queried.
Reacting in a statement issued on Wednesday, SSACO Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, said the South-South leaders’ position had vindicated the campaign organisation’s earlier claims about Makinde’s political ambition.
Oladele alleged that Makinde was pursuing a “spoiler’s game” by using what he described as a fake presidential bid to negotiate a soft landing ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, Makinde is aware that he cannot win the presidential election but is using his position as a serving governor to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s electoral support in the Southwest.
The campaign organisation further stated that Makinde would lose to Tinubu in Oyo State, while alleging that the governor was seeking to install Bimbo Adekanmbi for an “undemocratic third term”.
It said Adekanmbi would be defeated by Senator Sharafadeen Alli, whose Oyo AHEAD agenda, according to the organisation, would accelerate development in the state from next year.
“More stakeholders are now seeing through Makinde’s lies and rejecting his antics, confirming that no Nigerian takes Makinde seriously again,” SSACO said.
The organisation also pointed to what it described as the weakening of Makinde’s political structures in Oyo State, alleging that associates and party leaders had been resigning and distancing themselves from the governor over his political decisions.
“If a man cannot manage his party in his own state, how can he manage Nigeria?” a South-South APM leader was quoted as saying at a meeting on Tuesday.
SSACO said the position of the South-South stakeholders was consistent with the political reality in Oyo State.
It alleged that Makinde had failed to recognise established party structures and had abandoned some of the political actors who supported his emergence as governor in the 2019 and 2023 elections.
The campaign organisation also said members of Makinde’s cabinet and political team had been resigning in recent weeks, describing the development as evidence of growing isolation around the governor.
“In the past few weeks, no single day passes without one aide or the other resigning from his sinking cabinet,” the statement said.
The organisation concluded that Makinde’s alleged inability to manage political relationships within Oyo State should raise questions about his suitability to lead the country.
