Politics
Makinde’s celebration of Tinubu’s courtesy visit laughable, says Oyo APC
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state has described the reported jubilation, in the Agodi Government House, which followed the decision of its presidential candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to pay a courtesy visit to Governor Seyi Makinde last Thursday during the Presidential Rally held in Ibadan as laughable, childish and revealing.
There were reports of different interpretations being given the development as those in the camp of Gov. Makinde and Oyo PDP were said to have claimed that the courtesy visit was a tacit endorsement of the governor by Tinubu in what they termed as a fulfilment of an agreement between the former Lagos state governor and the five aggrieved governors of the PDP who might have foreclosed the possibility of supporting former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, in this Saturday poll.
In a statement issued on Monday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC challenged Governor Seyi Makinde to take the advantage of the hardship inflicted on the people by the controversial cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and demonstrate the populist in him if he indeed meant well for the masses or apologize for all the fake and misleading actions he has undertaken since he assumed office in 2019.
“Rather than dissipating energy and time on seeking endorsement here and there, Gov. Makinde should start thinking about what becomes of him after leaving office on May 29, 2023, since he has failed to deliver on his electoral promises for close to four years now. Only God knows how much fortune he (Makinde) has wasted in recent times in the name of securing endorsement for a second term from every Tom, Dick, and Harry even as most of those reported to have pronounced such fake endorsement later came out to deny it.
“The case of Ibadan Family Heads (Mogajis) took to the media space a few days ago to denounce the story of the fake endorsement being circulated by Gov. Makinde’s media handlers and sponsored propagandists. For his dream of genuine endorsement from all and sundry to be realized, Gov. Makinde would have to render an account of stewardship reflecting enviable growth in all the key sectors of the state economy, good relationship with all stakeholders including brother governors across South West states, flawless security architecture among others.
“To set the record straight, Asiwaju Tinubu only demonstrated statesmanship and maturity by visiting Gov. Makinde in his office as the number one citizen of the state at the moment. And in as much as all hands must be on deck in Yorubaland to secure a maximum number of votes for the APC’s Presidential candidate in this Saturday poll, it won’t be out of place for Tinubu to pay such a visit while everything he was quoted as saying was circumstantially appropriate.
“In any case, the only genuine endorsement that a low performer like Gov. Makinde can get would be from hungry political tools usually assembled by a lousy and indecorous member of his cabinet who is notorious for constituting a public nuisance in the political space. Gov. Makinde would be able to get the endorsement of the cerebral leader of the Progressives in Tinubu only if he could boast of 10 per cent of what Gov. Sanwo-Olu has done in Lagos. Rather than dropping the name of Tinubu, Gov. Makinde should first seek forgiveness from all the gladiators who assisted him to power in 2019 only to be humiliated immediately after he was sworn in.
“Lastly, we use this medium to impress upon Gov. Makinde that the time to showcase the humanitarian spirit in him is now. Governors of Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Borno, Kogi, and other states of the Federation have raised their voices to challenge the hurting cashless policy of the CBN while they have also issued directives to business people and bank executives in their respective states to receive old N500 and N1000 notes from depositors to ease the pain in the land. Gov. Makinde must borrow a leaf from his colleagues and come to the aid of the suffering residents of Oyo state”, APC concluded.
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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