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Makinde not at war with FG, any agency, Oyo PDP replies APC
A statement signed by the PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Engr. Akeem Olatunji, described the Oyo APC as a group of frustrated individuals with unabated desperation to destabilise the peace and tranquility in the state following a well-articulated economic plan introduced by Governor Makinde, which it said is fast erasing the memory of APC’s existence in Oyo State.
The statement reads in part: “Governor Makinde or the Oyo State government is not in a face-off with the Federal Government or any of its agencies. The face-off APC advertised exists only in their crude imaginations.
“The position that Makinde holds the office of the President in low esteem was a falsehood from the pit of hell and it justified our earlier position that Oyo APC is playing out an orchestrated plan to heat up the polity with a view to achieving their primary objective of ‘bringing down Makinde at all cost.’
“The Oyo APC’s penchant for telling chronic lies in the name of playing politics is not only unrivalled but unprecedented. The accusation that Makinde does not exchange communication with the Presidency is actually too childish. If the governor communicates with the Presidency, is he expected to advertise it? The APC has very poor understanding of governance; this is the reason it wasted public funds on advertising eight years of monumental failure.
“The Office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is not one that governors should write love letters to on a daily basis, so if there is no need to engage with the Presidency, Makinde would not because he wanted to please some misguided souls in APC begin to bombard the Presidency with ‘Please Call Me’ or ‘Please Notice Me’ text messages for publicity stunts.
“It is heart-warming that the APC actually conceded that Makinde is not opposed to all federal agencies but they should add anti-graft bodies like EFCC, ICPC and probably Ministry of Interior, which controls the Correctional Facilities to the list of organisations in Makinde’s good book, because that is where APC leaders who ran Oyo State aground, with nothing tangible to show for billions of Naira accrued to the state in eight years, will end up.
“It should be pointed out that Makinde has the highest regard for all federal agencies and the Federal Government but he will not shy away from his responsibility as governor of Oyo State because he wants to impress some group of disgruntled elements constituting themselves as opposition where in actual fact, they are mere agents of destabilization.
“First, the APC made reference to Oyo State government having issues with Nigeria Railway Corporation over landed properties, but that is just its usual way of advertising its folly. APC should not be dabbling in issues they know nothing about as it will amount to dancing naked in the market square.
“Second, the Oyo State government appreciated the Federal Government for donating 1,800 bags of rice and when it was found out that the rice were not safe for consumption, the government rejected them and asked for better ones. But if the Oyo APC, because it wants to continue to be in some people’s good books or because it wants to continue to justify the favours it is receiving from some quarters, thinks the government should not have rejected the spoilt rice, they can come to the Secretariat to collect the rejected rice and eat them.”
The PDP, which commended the Makinde-led government on the way it has handled the fight against COVID-19 so far, called on the people of the state not to pay attention to APC, which “seems to be more interested in seeing Oyo State suffer during this trying period.”
“On the management of Coronavirus in the state, available evidence has shown that the state government is getting things right. Unfortunately, the APC and its leaders are sad, because they revel in seeing Oyo State people in sorrow just because they voted for Makinde. The APC craves for deaths in hundreds in Oyo State; their leaders like Teslim Folarin cry about that the state should be locked down so that the people can suffer.
“But Makinde has been focused on stopping the virus and in doing that, he has collaborated with all necessary agencies. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was in Ibadan recently and it gave credit to the state government for the good job it did in setting up the Infectious Disease Centre, Olodo, which it described as world class.
“The governor had equally commended the Minister of Health on the job the ministry is doing nationally on COVID-19. So, we wonder where the Oyo APC got the twisted logic that Makinde was fighting federal health institutions from? We know that their utmost prayer is to see Makinde fail, that is why they are trying to impugn him by insinuating that he is fighting the UCH. But for their information, the UCH and the Oyo State are now collaborating on many fronts. If the APC is sad about this, they should go into mourning.
“Makinde has, in close to 12 months, redefined good governance in Oyo State: It is about putting the interest and wellbeing of the people of Oyo State first and not about docility or subservience to the Federal Government. The fact that Makinde is a PDP governor does not make him an enemy of the Federal Government and he has made this clear in different ways.
“However, the APC in Oyo State has the undying ambition to derail Makinde’s govt and so they will do anything including trying to incite APC leaders at the federal level against the Oyo State government. The APC’s statement should be clear and undisguised; it is another attempt to make sure the people of Oyo State suffer for voting their party out of office after eight years of woeful performance.”
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday held a high-level strategic meeting with the Oyo State chapter of the party as part of efforts to reposition the APC for victory and prevent internal crisis ahead of the polls.
The development was first scooped by OYOINSIGHT.COM which quoted multiple party sources familiar with the closed-door deliberations.
Sources disclosed that the meeting, held in Abuja, focused largely on a consensus arrangement being considered by stakeholders of the party in Oyo State, in line with political templates reportedly being adopted in Lagos and Ogun states ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Party insiders said the move was aimed at strengthening unity within the fold of the opposition party in the state, minimising rancour during the primaries and presenting a formidable front against rival parties in 2027.
It was further gathered that some members of the state executive committee may have been subtly informed about preferred consensus candidates being considered for elective positions across the state.
Though details of the deliberations were still sketchy as of press time, sources hinted that the national leadership stressed the need for cohesion, discipline and strategic alignment among stakeholders to improve the party’s electoral fortunes in Oyo.
Those at the meeting included the Oyo APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo; the state secretary, Fatai Adesina Adeniyi; the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare; the Organising Secretary, Aderemi Adepoju; and the Legal Adviser, Sunday Aborisade.
Others were the Women Leader, Adekemi Opatunde; the Youth Leader, Olalekan Oladejo; Joshua Oyebamiji; Tunde Oloyede; Sunday Babalola; Joseph Omoniyi; and Mojeed Adebayo.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the meeting.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Monday assured aspirants and party members that the party would conduct transparent, peaceful and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo declared that no aspirant would be victimised or denied a level playing field, stressing that the party leadership remained committed to internal democracy and progressive ideals.
The former deputy governor spoke while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committees deployed from the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He disclosed that although the party initially explored consensus arrangements across elective positions, prevailing realities indicated that direct primaries would be conducted in some areas, including the governorship contest.
Adeyemo said the party had already put necessary structures in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise capable of strengthening unity within the APC.
He said: “We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option which is direct primary in certain cases including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement as necessary.
“Where we have more than an aspirant, Abuja would send people to conduct primaries and we at the state level would provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.”
The APC chairman explained that all registered party members would participate fully in the exercise at their respective wards on dates to be announced by the National Secretariat.
According to him, affirmation would be adopted in areas where consensus candidates emerge, while voting would be conducted wherever direct primaries become necessary.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation while voting will be done in the cases of direct primary,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Screening Committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured party faithful that the committee would carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased screening process.
He said only eligible aspirants would be cleared to participate in the primaries and eventually fly the APC flag in the forthcoming elections.
Other members of the Screening Committee are Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye.
Members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress on Saturday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, declaring that the party’s candidate would serve a single four-year term if elected.
The decision was reached during the party’s national convention held in Abuja amid growing momentum within the opposition platform following a wave of high-profile defections from other political parties.
Announcing the development on its official social media handle, the party stated, “NDC presidential ticket is zoned to the South!!”
The party also resolved that its 2031 presidential ticket would be ceded to Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to maintain regional balance and internal equity.
The convention comes as key opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined party leaders and delegates at the Abuja gathering.
Saturday’s convention is expected to ratify several recent decisions taken by the party’s National Executive Committee, including zoning arrangements, amendments to the party constitution, and the election of new national executives.
According to the convention agenda obtained by journalists, discussions centred on zoning, ratification of the amended constitution, and leadership restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in defections from rival opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, no fewer than 17 members of the House of Representatives defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Their defections were formally announced during plenary at the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande and Munachim Umezuruike.
Others are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi and Abdulhakeem Ado.
The defections came barely two days after Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC from the ADC.
The duo were presented with the party’s membership cards last Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, officially welcomed the opposition figures into the party.
Obi had attributed his exit from the ADC to worsening internal crises, external interference and what he described as increasing hostility within party structures.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s political environment had become increasingly toxic, marked by intimidation, insecurity and sustained scrutiny of opposition figures.
He also lamented that institutions meant to protect citizens were now often deployed against them, while individuals committed to genuine public service faced mounting pressure both publicly and privately.
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