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Oyo: Akintola desperate for the headlines – Makinde’s aide
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, has described the recent spate of criticisms against boss by a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 election, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), as an indication of his desperation to hug the headlines.
Adisa, in a statement made available on Saturday, declared that it was a thing of concern that a learned silk like Akintola has descended so low to join the bandwagon of opposition elements trying unsuccessfully to manipulate and distort government policies in Oyo State and pass off genuine government efforts as policy somersaults.
According to the statement issued by the governor’s mouthpiece, “Chief Niyi Akintola, who by the way, should have been among those revered for standing by facts, alleged that the government in Oyo State reverses eight out of 10 policies. That’s an unkind fabrication, a white lie that cannot stand in real sense and one that should not have come from Akintola. Can he give evidence of any such policy somersault? Surely, he can’t.
“If a lawyer would jettison facts and become a purveyor of speculations just because he is desperate to keep himself in the 2023 APC rat race, one should wonder what hope lies ahead for the country and the search for truth and justice.
“I think Chief Akintola should make up his mind on whether he wants to be a friend of Governor Makinde or a blind critic of his administration. On one hand, he professes to be a friend of the governor, in another breath, he is busy marketing unfounded allegations against the governor.
“Contrary to the unfounded allegations by Chief Akintola and his journeymen, the government of Engineer Makinde is not involved in policy reversals and has remained focused on the goal of lifting Oyo State from poverty to prosperity.
“I have had cause to address this matter before and I insist that it is the undiscerning that will allege policy flipflops against Governor Makinde. When the deep acts with the majesty of intelligence backed by science, logic and data, the fickle-minded cannot discern. So they easily misrepresent the issues and allege policy somersaults or whatever their lips can spew.
“When Governor Makinde went on an inspection tour of the Circular Road under construction, he issued a ‘stop work order,’ and asked the management of the construction company to come for a meeting in his office, a reporter mistook the stop work order for contract cancellation.
“But the directive from the governor was clear; stop the work, come for a meeting to decide the way forward. After that meeting, 24 hours after the inspection, the governor lifted the stop work order and asked the contractor to go ahead and fulfil the contractual terms.
“Since then, the leadership of the APC in Oyo State has mischievously been trying to stick to the error of the reporter who mistook the stop work order for cancellation. But that will not stand. They should make reference to the official statement from the governor’s office in case they are confused.
The statement continued, “At times, one wonders if Chief Akintola and his APC caravan really understand what policy somersault means, because the funny commentaries they run and the positions they dramatise as policy flipflops of the Makinde administration are strange and should make one ask whether they really understand the issues.
“We are, however, not surprised that the APC system in Oyo State has been struggling to pin down wrong narratives on Governor Makinde. Ever since he hit the ground running from his first day in office, he has got the opposition confused, leaving them to only strive to hold on to straws and seek to brand him in negative terms.
“But I want to state categorically that the unlikely headlines they seek to popularise against the governor will not jell. The people of Oyo State are solidly behind Governor Makinde and they have continued to commend the policies of his government, which have made life better for them in the last one year.”
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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