The Oyo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party has described the attack on Governor Seyi Makinde by the All Progressives Congress as an indication that the ruling party is scared of Nigerians ahead of the 2027 election.
Makinde, elected on the platform of the PDP, recently stated that the 2027 election would be a contest between the APC and hungry Nigerians, many of whom were struggling to eke out a living owing to the hardship inflicted on them by the ruling party.
Not happy with the statement, the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, came hard on the PDP chieftain, linking his attack on President Bola Tinubu to his (Makinde’s) rumoured 2027 presidential ambition.
The statement read in part, “Like the proverbial bad workman that blames his tools, Makinde and his co-confused leaders of the PDP should quit pointing fingers at the APC and take full responsibility for their disgraceful failure to handle the party’s implosion and decay.
“Makinde’s unhinged 2027 ambition cannot be founded upon his unguarded and unjustified attacks against our great party or the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that has launched the boldest and most ambitious reform effort in history to transform our country’s economy and build a solid foundation for progress.
“Governor Makinde has failed to prove himself as an effective leader. His lacklustre performance as governor speaks for itself, and undermines his credibility. Instead of prioritising the needs of the Oyo people who elected him to tackle their local issues, he has chosen to divert his attention and squander the state’s resources in pursuit of unhinged 2027 ambition.
‘‘Makinde must know that Nigeria’s scale and complexities demand more than his vain and self-indulgent ambition.”
Reacting to Morka’s attack on Makinde, the acting state Publicity Secretary, Michael Ogunsina, said Makinde’s remark about the situation of the country mirrors nothing but the truth.
It stated, “We read with amusement a statement issued on Sunday by the national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress attacking Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for saying what is an obvious truth that the 2027 general election would be a contest between the APC and the people of Nigeria.
“Democracy is about politicians meeting the people at the polls. Why is the APC afraid of meeting the people at the polls in 2027? A party that has been doing the will of the people would thank Governor Makinde for pairing it with the people. But the sinner will run when nobody is pursuing him. The APC is that sinner. It shall not go unpunished.
“We believe that the APC statement was very unnecessary, wrongly directed and wrongly themed. If the APC and its Federal Government are doing well and the people are happy with them, why would they see Makinde’s statement as an attack on their government?”
On the next political move for the governor, Ogunsina said “The APC got its focus and guessing wrong. Governor Makinde is too seasoned to be drawn into a matter that is clearly in the hands of God. He has said repeatedly that no one would set a 2027 agenda for him. He is maintaining that stance, even now.
“Our governor is busy fulfilling his promises to the people of Oyo State. And the people are very happy with him and with all he has been doing with their mandate.
“He is one leader who is not afraid to walk the streets of any city, town and village in his state. We wish the APC could come out, beat its chest and say the same to its leaders and government.
“Instead of boasting of positive achievements, we note that the only offering the APC has for the people in that abusive press statement is the promise of what it called ‘looming prosperity.’ That is a shame!
“We urge Nigerians to demand from the APC what it meant by ‘looming prosperity’ after almost two years in power wrecking businesses, unleashing poverty and inflicting unprecedented suffering on the people of Nigeria through its wrong policies.
“Instead of abusing Governor Makinde, we implore the APC to reappraise itself and think deeply about why it decided to impoverish the people and wreck our country contrary to its 2023 promise of prosperity for all.
“It should, in fact, thank our governor for waking it up to the reality that all future elections will be a referendum on the APC for its wickedness and maladministration.”
The statement asked the APC and its leaders to be humble, and remorseful, and even beg Nigerians for forgiveness.
“We further advise the APC and its leaders to learn to be humble, be remorseful, repent from their misbehaviour, and beg Nigerians for clemency.
“If the guilty learn to be truthful and drop their arrogance, they may gain God’s forgiveness and the people’s pardon.
“Finally, we reiterate Governor Makinde’s statement that the 2027 elections will be a straight contest between the APC and the hungry people of Nigeria.
“If the APC sees that statement of fact as a curse, then, too bad. Our prayer is that God will reward the APC and its leaders appropriately for all they have done with Nigeria and its people. We hope the party, its leaders and their government will have the heart to say amen to that prayer,” it added.
The PDP national secretariat also warned the APC that its days have been numbered by Nigerians.
This is as it described the ruling APC as a party of “political vampires” who thrive and relish in “sucking the blood” of citizens and foisting excruciating pain and hardship on Nigerians.
In a statement shared on its verified X handle @OfficialPDPNig on Monday, the main opposition party described the Abdullahi Ganduje-led APC as “A haven of power-grabbers, treasury looters and manipulators who are only out to ‘grab, snatch and run’ with our national patrimony at the expense of millions of our citizens.”
The PDP strongly condemned the APC’s attack on Makinde for speaking out for the Nigerian masses who had been subjected to untold hardship by the APC administration.
Describing the attack as a reckless, insensitive and reprehensible display of arrogance in failure, the statement added that “The attack on Governor Makinde also confirms that the APC is jittery that its days are numbered as Nigerians have seen through its lies, subterfuge, falsehood, suppressive policies and crass incompetence in governance.
“Governor Makinde remains a credible and effective leader with an astonishing record of performance not only in prioritising the needs of the people of Oyo State as evident in the numerous development projects in the state but also working with other governors elected on the platform of the PDP in the quest for development, sustenance of democracy and resistance to APC’s scheme to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
“It is indeed an assault on the sensibility of Nigerians that in the midst of worsening insecurity, biting economic hardship, widespread hunger and starvation, comatose infrastructure, crippled productive sector, weakened currency, closure of millions of businesses with over 36 per cent unemployment rate, hopelessness and general despondency all occasioned by the irresponsible anti-people policies of the APC administration.
“The APC is living in an alternate reality, arrogantly claiming that Nigeria is on the cusp of prosperity.”
The PDP said, it found it preposterous that the ruling party “Thinks that it can continue to hoodwink citizens with lies and harvest of false performance claims when it has failed on all fronts, reversed all the gains made in the 16 years of the PDP in governance and turned our once economically thriving nation into the poverty capital of the world, where over 100 million Nigerians are no longer able to afford their daily meals and other basic necessities of life.
“Today, under the APC voodoo economy, the Naira which exchanged for N168 to the Dollar under the PDP now exchanges for almost N2,000 per Dollar, petrol which sold for N87 per litre now sells for over N1,500 in various parts of the country; a bag of rice which sold for N8,000 now sells for over N100,000, a measure of beans which sold for N250 now sells for N3,800 while a measure of garri which sold for N100 now sells for N1,500.
“More distressing is that while Nigerians are experiencing harrowing hardship, corrupt APC leaders are busy looting the nation’s treasury to fund their luxury appetite and consumption.
“It is, therefore, not surprising that as the day progresses toward 2027, the APC is resorting to manipulation of data, politicisation of issues and personal attacks on outspoken Nigerians as being witnessed in its outburst against Governor Makinde,” it added.
