2027: Makinde predicts landslide win for APM, welcomes APC defectors

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Monday expressed confidence that the Allied People’s Movement would win the 2027 general elections, saying God, the people of Oyo State and Nigerians at large were firmly behind the party.

He spoke during the Boye Nation/JAF Movement Mega Concert held at the Open Tennis Court of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan, where he formally received thousands of defectors from the All Progressives Congress into the APM.

The defectors, led by Ajiboye Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, a personal assistant and loyalist to former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, were drawn from several local government areas across the state.

This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, in Ibadan, the state capital.

Makinde advised the APC governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, to channel his efforts towards contesting against the APM candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, rather than criticising his administration.

He reiterated his earlier position that Alli was a mediocre lawyer, adding that the people of Oyo State would not allow the state to regress.

The governor urged Alli to focus on persuading the electorate to support him, while expressing confidence that voters would choose Adekanmbi, a certified accountant, over Alli, whom he described as a lawyer without a record of success in legal practice.

Makinde also addressed criticisms over the use of diesel-powered generators to power streetlights in the state despite his background as an engineer.

He said the situation would have been different if the APC-led Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu had resolved Nigeria’s electricity challenges. He also recalled Tinubu’s campaign promise that he should not be re-elected if he failed to fix the country’s power problem.

He said: “God has signed off on what we are doing, and that is why it is raining. Today, we are welcoming thousands of APC members into the APM, and this shows that our victory is only a matter of time. We will win massively in all elections in 2027.

“This is why I encourage the APC governorship candidate, Senator Alli, to focus his energy on convincing the people of Oyo to support him despite the hardship brought upon them by his party. He should focus on the APM governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, instead of attacking our administration.

“He said I am an engineer yet we power streetlights with diesel. I believe he is pained because I said he is an unsuccessful lawyer. But where is the lie? I am an engineer and a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers — meaning I have excelled in my chosen career. The candidate we are presenting to you, Adekanmbi, is a graduate of Accounting and a professional who is also a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, the highest qualification in the profession.

“Ask Alli if he has any recognition in his own profession. He is not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. On powering streetlights with diesel generators, remind them that their leader was the one who said that if he didn’t fix Nigeria’s electricity problem within his first four years, no one should vote for him again. If he had fulfilled that promise, we would not be powering streetlights with diesel.”

The concert, themed “Young, United, Unstoppable”, served as the official reception for Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, and his supporters into the APM.

The event featured performances by Fuji artistes, including Alhaji Taye Currency, Alhaji Tiri Leather, Babatunmise, Ajeseun Band and Aare Rasaq Ayanfe, among others.

Dignitaries at the event included the Secretary to the State Government, Musibau Babatunde; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Segun Ogunwuyi; serving members of the National Assembly and the state House of Assembly; commissioners; APM leaders and other government functionaries.

Also present were the three APM senatorial candidates, Dhikrullahi Olajide Odidiomo for Oyo South, Shina Peller for Oyo North and Ajadi Oguntoyinbo for Oyo Central, as well as 14 APM House of Representatives candidates, 32 APM House of Assembly candidates and the 33 APM local government chairmanship candidates.