Makinde welcomes APC defectors, predicts landslide win for APM in 2027

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has expressed confidence that the Allied People’s Movement (APM) will win the 2027 general elections, saying God, the people of Oyo State and Nigerians at large were firmly behind the party, Punch reports.

He spoke on Monday during the Boye Nation/JAF Movement Mega Concert in Ibadan, where he formally received thousands of defectors from the All Progressives Congress (APC) into the APM, led by Ajiboye Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation.

Makinde advised APC governorship candidate Senator Sharafadeen Alli to channel his efforts toward contesting against APM candidate Bimbo Adekanmbi rather than criticising his administration, reiterating his earlier description of Alli as a “mediocre lawyer” while expressing confidence voters would prefer Adekanmbi, a certified accountant.

Addressing criticism over his administration’s use of diesel-powered generators to power streetlights despite his engineering background, Makinde said the situation would have been different had Tinubu’s federal government resolved Nigeria’s electricity challenges, recalling the president’s earlier campaign promise not to seek re-election if he failed to fix the power sector.

“God has signed off on what we are doing, and that is why it is raining,” Makinde said, adding that welcoming thousands of APC defectors showed “our victory is only a matter of time.”

He further challenged Alli to point to any professional recognition in his legal career, noting he was not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, unlike Adekanmbi, a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants — a jab that set the tone for what promises to be a heated 2027 governorship contest in Oyo State.