The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has described the poor attendance at the governorship campaign flag-off of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State as an indication of the party’s alleged lack of grassroots support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
SSACO, which made its position known in a statement issued by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, also alleged that the outcome of the rally reflected growing rejection of the APM governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, and Governor Seyi Makinde, whom it accused of sponsoring his ambition.
The APM campaign flag-off, held on Saturday at Durbar Stadium, Oyo town, was organised to formally launch Adekanmbi’s governorship campaign and those of other party candidates contesting National and State Assembly seats in the 2027 elections.
According to SSACO, the rally, despite months of planning and mobilisation involving the party’s structures across the 33 local government areas of the state, recorded what it described as an embarrassing turnout, with some candidates also reportedly absent.
The organisation said the development reinforced the position of the Oyo State APC that the APM lacked the grassroots appeal and political popularity required to secure widespread electoral support.
In its reaction, SSACO urged Adekanmbi and Governor Makinde to regard the turnout as a warning about their electoral prospects in the forthcoming presidential and governorship elections.
“The embarrassing poor attendance at the Oyo State APM governorship campaign flag-off in Oyo town on Saturday was another confirmation that Oyo State people have rejected the party’s governorship candidate, Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, and his sponsor, Governor Seyi Makinde,” the statement said.
The organisation further accused the governor of committing state resources to Adekanmbi’s governorship ambition and what it described as an unrealistic presidential election project.
It argued that the alleged poor turnout reflected public dissatisfaction with the Makinde administration, particularly over agriculture, youth development, industrialisation and infrastructure in rural communities.
SSACO also accused the state government of neglecting rural roads and damaged bridges across local government areas, blaming the situation on what it described as paralysed local government councils.
It questioned whether residents across the 33 local government areas would forget what it termed the failure of the present administration to deliver democratic dividends over the past seven and a half years.
The campaign organisation also took issue with Makinde’s reported declaration at the rally that Nigerians would give the APC a political surprise in the 2027 elections.
According to SSACO, the turnout at the event was itself a response to the governor, insisting that the people were ready for a change of political leadership in the state.
Projecting the candidacy of Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the organisation said an Alli-led administration would guarantee local government autonomy, strengthen collaboration with the Federal Government and address what it described as the failures of the Makinde administration since 2019.
It added that Alli would implement his Oyo AHEAD agenda to reposition the state for development.
