The Allied People’s Movement has said the Federal Government’s recent attacks on its presidential candidate, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, show that President Bola Tinubu is jittery over Makinde’s growing popularity ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

APM, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, on Wednesday, said the Tinubu administration was resorting to name-calling and disparagement because it lacked a convincing record of achievements to present to Nigerians, insisting that Makinde would defeat Tinubu in the 2027 election.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, had, during an interview with journalists on Monday, dismissed Makinde and the APM as inconsequential to the 2027 electoral contest.

Reacting, the APM described it as pathetic and unfortunate that the Tinubu Presidency had descended to such a low level of political ignominy, arguing that the administration had resorted to disparaging remarks and personal attacks instead of addressing the issues that matter to Nigerians.

It stated, “It is rather pathetic that the Tinubu Presidency has fallen so low into ignominy that it now relies on internationally discredited and politically inconsistent characters like Daniel Bwala to speak for it on national TV; a situation that further confirms that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu no longer commands the support of credible Nigerians.

“Since Daniel Bwala’s March 6, 2026, scandalous interview with Al Jazeera, Nigerians can always see through the antics of President Tinubu’s handlers. Daniel Bwala would soon eat his own words against Governor Makinde.

“In any event, the 2027 presidential race would be between Governor Seyi Makinde, standing shoulder to shoulder with millions of Nigerians who are determined for a new beginning, and a failed President Tinubu, who only has the feeble support of a handful of sycophantic, corrupt, arrogant and morally depraved minions on his payroll.

“The APM is, therefore, not surprised that the Tinubu Presidency is deflated and intimidated because it has no tangible scorecard of achievements to present to the public, given its abysmal failures, for which Nigerians across the board have reached a consensus to replace President Tinubu with Governor Makinde at the 2027 election, given Makinde’s outstanding performance as Governor of Oyo State.”

The APM said it would not be dragged into an exchange of insults, stressing that its attention remains firmly focused on issues of importance to Nigerians.

The statement read, “Of course, President Tinubu should be jittery because Governor Makinde is coming into the contest with an intimidating record of performance, including transforming Oyo State into a foremost economically viable state, surpassing the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, according to data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), a feat Nigerians want him to replicate at the national level.

“The Tinubu Presidency is edgy because Nigerians are determined and eager to elect Governor Seyi Makinde as the next President of the country so that they can enjoy the benefits of his blueprint to revamp the economy, rejig our security architecture, rebuild collapsed infrastructure, revitalise the productive sectors, provide jobs, end corruption and bring a new lease of life to the people.

“Of course, why won’t the Tinubu Presidency be jittery when Governor Makinde is coming with the full support of over 50 million young Nigerians whose destinies are being caged by the Tinubu administration and who are now rallying with our presidential candidate as the face of the new Nigeria they eagerly seek and for which they are ready to vote in 2027 and defend their votes to the very end?

“To suggest that a presidential candidate with such an army of support is “inconsequential” says more about the anxiety within the corridors of power than it does about the candidate.

“In fact, before noon on election day, the Presidency will know who actually is inconsequential in this race.”

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President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday met with former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, in an apparent move to rally the former Oyo State governorship candidate behind the All Progressives Congress’ 2027 candidate, Sharafadeen Alli.

The Tuesday meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, according to a source closer to Folarin, is believed to be part of efforts to unite the party’s major stakeholders and resolve lingering differences within the Oyo APC ahead of the February 2027 governorship election.

Folarin, who represented Oyo Central Senatorial District in the Senate, was the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 election, in which he lost to the incumbent, Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The choice of Alli by the party hierarchy stopped Folarin’s ambition for 2027 as he did not participate in the primaries leading to the emergence of the governorship candidate.

His meeting with Tinubu came amid efforts by the President and the APC leadership to consolidate support for Alli, who emerged as the party’s candidate after a contentious process that initially pitted him against several prominent aspirants, including former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.

Alli was eventually presented as the party’s candidate alongside his running mate, Adesoji Adedeji, at a ceremony in Ibadan on July 2.

His emergence followed an endorsement by APC leaders and stakeholders in the state, who adopted him as their consensus candidate after consultations which they said were backed by the President.

However, the process was not without controversy, as Adelabu, who resigned as Minister of Power to contest the primaries, insisted that the party had yet to make an official pronouncement on the outcome of the exercise.

Adelabu had urged party members to remain calm and reject what he described as premature claims about a consensus arrangement, insisting that the national leadership should formally declare the winner of the primary.

Alli was reported to have defeated Adelabu and other aspirants, including former Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, Akeem Agbaje and Oyedele Alao.

A group of aggrieved aspirants, known as G5, also kicked against Alli’s emergence and demanded that the party address the matter.

The APC’s decision to proceed with Alli’s candidacy caused divisions within the party, with some members expressing grievances over the process of his emergence and calling for reconciliation ahead of the election.

The party leadership has since urged aggrieved members to close ranks, warning that internal divisions could undermine its efforts to wrest power from the PDP, which has governed Oyo State since 2019.

The source, who preferred anonymity, told The PUNCH on Tuesday evening that the President’s move to draw Folarin into Alli’s campaign is an important step in the APC’s reconciliation efforts, given his influence within the party and his experience as the party’s flag bearer in the last governorship election.

Folarin had also been among the prominent APC figures whose support would be crucial to the party’s effort to present a united front in the 2027 contest.

The source said the President promised Folarin that his men would be included in the scheme of things in the power calculation at the state and federal levels.

The PUNCH gathered that Folarin is expected to meet with and address his supporters on the new development after his meeting with Tinubu.

The APC is seeking to regain control of Oyo State in 2027 after losing the governorship to Makinde in 2019 and failing to unseat him in 2023.

Alli’s candidacy followed months of consultations among party leaders, with supporters presenting him as a candidate capable of uniting the party and broadening its appeal across the state’s political divides.

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