The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to turn infrastructure development into a partisan spectacle, following Monday’s flag-off ceremony for the dualisation of the Ibadan–Ijebu Ode road—an event from which Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, was conspicuously excluded.
The party described the snub as a breach of protocol, particularly given that Governor Makinde is both the state’s chief executive and the APM’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, APM National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, expressed dismay that the Tinubu administration had reduced the provision of essential infrastructure to “political gatherings and ceremonial displays.”
Yusuf criticised the Minister of Works, Engr Dave Umahi, and other cabinet members for extending invitations to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rasheed Ladoja, APC leaders, and the party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State, Sharafadeen Ali, while sidelining the state’s sitting governor.
“The Federal Government lacks the moral standing to exclude Governor Makinde from a federal project situated within his own state,” Yusuf stated.
He further warned against inflaming political tensions by drawing traditional institutions into partisan affairs, describing the invitation of the Olubadan without the governor’s knowledge as “utterly wrong.”
The APM also raised concerns over what it termed a “subtle campaign” by the Federal Government to deploy traditional rulers against the Oyo State Government, citing a recent visit by Oyo monarchs to the President to express gratitude for the release of abducted Orere School children and teachers.
“Why would traditional rulers from Oyo undertake such a thank-you visit without the state’s chief security officer, Governor Seyi Makinde?” Yusuf queried.
He appealed to the traditional class to remain apolitical, advising Oba Rasheed Ladoja to distinguish between his role as a former governor and his current position as Olubadan.
Recalling former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose’s alleged plot to dethrone the Olubadan shortly after his coronation, Yusuf maintained that it was “uncultured and abnormal” for traditional rulers to be entangled in political manoeuvres.
The APM reaffirmed its presidential candidate’s commitment to “resetting Nigeria” through good governance, rather than the pursuit of power for its own sake—a philosophy it accused the APC-led Federal Government of promoting.
