The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has advised the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) to first demonstrate that it possesses the national structure and political strength required to mount a serious presidential challenge before hyping its presidential candidate Governor Seyi Makinde who will paralyze Nigeria’s 768 local governments and the six FCT Area Councils if he ever had the chance to occupy Aso Rock as number one citizen.
Describing as laughable the call by the party asking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step aside for Makinde, the SSACO in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity Bisi Oladele, said it was the height of political hallucination for the APM to speak as if the presidency of Nigeria could be secured through press statements and political theatrics rather than through nationwide organization and electoral support.
Even if it were, the statement said Nigerians are not naive to surrender the presidency to a man notorious for paralyzing local governments which are effective channels of grassroots development.
The statement read in part: “APM’s Makinde is averse to the third tier of government in Nigeria, and this is evident in his seven-year anti-local government administration in Oyo State.
“Declaring an ambition is one thing; building the political structure required to prosecute a nationwide presidential election is another entirely. The APM should tell Nigerians how extensive its electoral structures are across the federation and demonstrate its capacity to compete effectively across the states and the Federal Capital Territory. It must have candidates across various elective positions in at least one third of the country to show seriousness.
“But can we blame the APM spokesperson for issuing a press statement at the end of the month in a subtle reminder to his hirers that his salary is due for payment?
“More importantly, even Governor Seyi Makinde, whom the APM now parades as its presidential candidate, has serious political battles to fight in his home state of Oyo where he has paralyzed the 33 local governments in the last seven years. In fact, he is gasping for breath politically in the state.
“A man seeking to conquer Nigeria must first demonstrate compelling political strength on his own turf. Charity, as the saying goes, begins at home.”
The SSACO stressed that the 2027 presidential election will not be decided by who issues the loudest press statement but by Nigerians whose children now enjoy student loan, enjoy establishment of new federal universities, witness construction of super highways and reconstruction of multiple inter-state and inter-city roads as dividends of democracy under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
