The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu should carry the blame for the series of crises overwhelming the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that the opposition party’s internal collapse is self-inflicted.
The ruling party argued that Governor Seyi Makinde and a select group of PDP leaders should be held accountable for what it described as the party’s “naivety, pride and insincerity.”
In a statement released on Wednesday by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, the Oyo APC said it was regrettable that a party which once dominated Nigeria’s political space for over a decade and a half has deteriorated to the point where it is losing serving governors, federal lawmakers and state legislators to rival parties, especially the APC.
“As democrats, we are worried at the turn of events in the PDP since the umbrella party was dislodged from power at the centre in 2015, as it became evident that the only thing which united members of the party was the national cake,” the statement read.
According to the APC, the unravelling of the PDP began immediately after the 2015 presidential election, when it became clear that the newly formed APC had displaced it from power. The party argued that without access to federal resources, the PDP failed to sustain internal cohesion and has remained in disarray ever since.
Sadare further claimed that the current state of the PDP was the result of what he called “the law of retribution,” noting that the party’s 16 years in power were marked by extensive socio-economic damage. He recalled that a prominent PDP leader once boasted that the party would govern Nigeria for at least 50 years, an assertion the APC says symbolised the height of political arrogance.
“Shortly after, power and money which kept them going disappeared, and minor crises were allowed to fester until the worst happened in the build-up to the 2023 general elections,” the Oyo APC spokesman added.
The statement accused leaders of the PDP of neglecting opportunities to reform the party, instead allowing Governor Makinde to assume national influence despite allegedly lacking the experience and capacity required to manage a major political platform. The APC argued that Makinde’s prominence coincided with what it called the party’s “final downfall,” noting that he is now the only PDP governor in Southern Nigeria and one of only a handful remaining nationwide.
“We recall that Senator Bola Tinubu and other victims of the do-or-die politics of the Obasanjo era sacrificed a lot to keep the opposition movement afloat until 2015. The same set of people cannot be blamed for the incompetence on the part of those in the opposition today,” the statement said.
The party concluded that Governor Makinde cannot rescue the PDP from what it described as a “comatose condition,” urging critics to stop linking President Tinubu to the opposition party’s woes. It added that the President should be allowed to focus fully on national governance.
