Ejiofor Alike
The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has challenged the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) to build nationwide political structure and strength before eyeing the presidency, stressing that the presidency of Nigeria cannot be secured through press statements and political theatrics but through nationwide organisation and electoral support.
SSACO, which is promoting the governorship ambition of Senator Sharafadeen Alli on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, has also criticised the APM over its call for President Bola Tinubu to step aside for its presidential candidate and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde in the 2027 presidential election.
Describing as laughable the call by the party asking President 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.
According to SSACO, APM spoke as if the presidency of Nigeria could be secured through press statements and political theatrics.
SSACO said APM’s demand was premature, arguing that a presidential ambition required a nationwide political structure capable of contesting elections across the country.
SSACO advised APM to first demonstrate that it possessed the national structure and political strength required to mount a serious presidential challenge before hyping its presidential candidate, Makinde.
SSACO argued that Makinde would paralyse Nigeria’s 774 local governments and the six FCT Area Councils if he ever had the chance to occupy Aso Rock as number one citizen.
It said, “Declaring an ambition is one thing; building the political structure required to prosecute a nationwide presidential election is another entirely.”
The organisation challenged the APM to disclose the extent of its electoral structures across the federation and demonstrate its capacity to compete across the states and the FCT.
It further said the party should have candidates contesting various elective positions in at least one-third of the country to demonstrate its seriousness.
The campaign organisation also turned its criticism to Makinde, saying the governor had political challenges to address in Oyo State before seeking to lead Nigeria.
“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. In fact, he is gasping for breath politically in the state,” it said.
The organisation argued that a politician seeking the presidency should first demonstrate strong political support in his home state.
The statement said Nigerians would not be naive to surrender the presidency to a man notorious for paralysing local governments, the effective channels of grassroots development.
“A man seeking to conquer Nigeria must first demonstrate compelling political strength on his own turf. Charity, as the saying goes, begins at home,” it added.
It said the 2027 presidential election would ultimately be determined by voters rather than political statements, adding that Tinubu was seeking another term on the platform of a party with an established nationwide organisation.
“For Governor Makinde, however, that national ambition does not erase the political contest unfolding back home in Oyo State,” the organisation said.
It urged the APM to prepare for the electorate’s decision, insisting that the presidency could not be transferred through political proclamations.
“The presidency of Nigeria is neither inherited nor surrendered on demand. It is contested for and determined by the Nigerian people at the ballot box,” it said.
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.”