Tinubu, APC Afraid Of Makinde’s Popularity – APM

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has alleged that President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are afraid of the growing popularity of its 2027 presidential candidate, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

The party, which spoke against the backdrop of the exclusion of Governor Makinde from the flag-off ceremony of the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode road project on Monday, said the federal government and the APC were afraid that Makinde’s growing popularity would eclipse their presence if he had been invited for the event.

The APM, in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, added that the presidency and the APC are uncomfortable with the governor’s rising profile ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

According to the APM, “The Tinubu Presidency and the APC were scared that Makinde’s presence at the event would have further exposed President Tinubu’s failures, as the APM presidential candidate has done far better than the President in the last three years, including in the execution of road projects.”

The party claimed that while Tinubu, who hails from the South-West, had been unable to point to the initiation, execution and completion of up to 250 kilometres of roads across the region since assuming office in 2023, Makinde had executed more than 360 kilometres of roads in Oyo State alone.

It added that more road projects executed by the Oyo governor were awaiting commissioning.

The APM also accused the APC of being uneasy about Makinde’s ability to unite governors, political leaders and other stakeholders across the country on major national issues.

It argued that his presence at the road project ceremony would have attracted considerable attention and potentially shifted the focus of the event away from the federal government.

Naija News reports that the APM, however, said President Tinubu and the APC can’t perpetually run away from Makinde as they will surely face off during the 2027 elections.

“APC and the Tinubu Presidency must note that they cannot run from Governor Makinde forever. They must surely meet him at the poll in January 2027 where the will of millions of Nigerians in preference for Governor Makinde as the replacement for President Tinubu cannot be suppressed,” the party said.