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The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation has described the Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Presidential Candidate, Seyi Makinde, as clueless and a total embarrassment to the people of the State, saying “for failing to address hunger in Oyo State despite increased funds from the federation account, Makinde has shown that he is more than clueless.”

The Campaign Organisation, in a statement by Bisi Oladele, Director of Media and Publicity, said Governor Makinde’s admittance of more money from the federation account to Oyo State was a confirmation of the success of the economic reform policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Makinde had admitted in Lafia, Nasarawa State on Monday, that Oyo State received more money from the federation account, but added that he has not been able to reduce hunger in the State.

The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation, in a statement on Tuesday, said Makinde’s statement, though a function of his level of intellectual capacity, is a sad and clear reality of what Oyo State has been going through in terms of purposeful governance in the last seven years.

If through the ingenuity and purposeful leadership of President Tinubu, Oyo State allocation from the federation account has increased tremendously, should it also be the duty of the President to ensure judicious use of the money?

If you have acknowledged that monthly, you have been getting more money from the federation account, who are you expecting to come and help you to fight hunger in your State? Is it President Tinubu?

Most importantly, this same Governor Makinde has deliberately refused to allow local governments in Oyo State to function. He has criminally been everywhere, opposing local government autonomy so as to continue to spend both the State and local council funds.

Therefore, for the people of Oyo State, waiting a day longer to stop the extension of Makinde’s cluelessness beyond 2027 is what must not be allowed to happen and on February 6, 2027, the governor and the man through whom he desires to extend his clueless government will be rejected by the people.

Bisi Oladele
Director, Media and Publicity
Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation

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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has said the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 is critical to sustaining development and reducing poverty in Northern Nigeria.

Yilwatda made the assertion on Monday in Abuja while receiving a group of members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) who defected to the ruling APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The delegation was led by Princess Aslam Aliyu, while an ADC candidate from Zamfara State, Hon. Mohammed Hassan, spoke on behalf of the defectors.

Yilwatda warned that reversing some of the Federal Government’s current economic policies could worsen poverty in the North, particularly if funding for infrastructure and social programmes is affected.

Defending the Tinubu administration’s record, the APC chairman cited ongoing and completed road projects across the region, as well as government initiatives in gas development, fertiliser production, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and student loans.

He particularly highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), claiming that a significant number of its beneficiaries are from Northern Nigeria.

Yilwatda also defended the administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, questioning how a return to the subsidy regime would be financed without affecting ongoing development projects.

“The Hausa radio stations tell us that they will return the subsidy. I keep on asking, how are they going to return the subsidy?” he said.

The APC chairman asked whether restoring the subsidy would require the Federal Government to suspend road construction and other infrastructure projects in the North.

“You mean they will stop all these road constructions because they want to return the subsidy? Because there will be no money for this construction,” he said.

He argued that programmes such as gas and fertiliser initiatives, CNG projects and student loans could also face funding challenges if the subsidy regime was restored.

“The beneficiaries of the student loan, most of them are from the North. We have more and more of them in this part of the country. Should we stop it?” he asked.

Yilwatda further argued that the subsidy removal should be viewed against the financial difficulties faced by several states before the Tinubu administration assumed office in 2023.

According to him, some Northern states had struggled to pay workers’ salaries and settle outstanding gratuities, warning that a reversal of current economic policies could worsen the situation.

“And most of our people who can’t afford school fees should go back as wheelbarrow pushers in the villages?” he asked.

“Should we say our state should go back again? They can’t pay salaries, they can’t pay gratuities… increase poverty again in the North.”

The APC chairman also dismissed allegations that the Tinubu administration had neglected the North, citing several major road projects as evidence of federal investment in the region.

Among the projects he mentioned were the Abuja-Kano and Kano-Maiduguri roads, as well as the Jos-Akwanga, Sokoto-Kebbi and Kano-Daura corridors.

Yilwatda said work on the Abuja-Kano road was nearing completion, while construction on the Kano-Maiduguri corridor had also recorded significant progress.

He maintained that the administration’s ongoing investments and programmes demonstrated its commitment to the development of the region.

Meanwhile, the defectors pledged their support for the APC and promised to mobilise their supporters for the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Hassan said their decision to leave the ADC was aimed at beginning what he described as a new phase of political service.

“We are not here merely to change the political platform, but to begin a new chapter of service and a great contribution to our people by supporting Baba Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda 2027,” he said.

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Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has accused the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Aisha Binani, of backing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Lawal made the allegation on Monday in a statement posted on his official Facebook page.

The former SGF, who recently joined the NDC, claimed that Binani was supporting Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), instead of the NDC’s Peter Obi.

His allegation followed reports that six NDC governorship candidates from the North-East had rejected his appointment as the party’s leader in the North-East and North-Central zones.

Lawal said the reported opposition was being driven by a female governorship aspirant in Adamawa State, whom he described as a “pretender” to the party’s ticket.

He, however, said the development did not concern him, arguing that his appointment was a decision of the national leadership of the party.

According to him, the NDC governorship candidates in Gombe and Taraba states had contacted him to dissociate themselves from the reported protest.

Lawal also maintained that Nigeria’s political future in 2027 should revolve around a Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso presidential ticket.

He further pledged that the 2027 election would be conducted without manipulation, warning that those he described as “moles” would be rendered ineffective.

“My attention has been drawn to a trending story on social media to the effect that six so-called gubernatorial candidates of the Nigeria Democratic Congress are protesting my joining the party and my appointment as the leader of the party in the North-Eastern Zone of the party.

“I have it on good authority that the charade is being led and organised by a female pretender to the governorship candidacy of Adamawa State.

“It is important to note that this matter of protest is of no worry to me. I consider it to be a matter for the national leadership of the party, which recruited me into the party and declared me the National Leader of the party in the North-East and North-Central zones of the party.

“No formal offer was made to me, nor did I request to be so appointed before the announcement was made. I had accepted it in good faith as a mark of respect to Senator Dickson, Mr Obi and Kwankwaso, all of whom I highly respect and to whom I could not say no,” he wrote.