By Peter Salami
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has openly justified his faction’s decision to align with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), saying the move was necessary to escape the lingering leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking on Thursday during the APM governorship primary in Ibadan, Makinde said the unity arrangement with the party was a strategic political decision aimed at protecting his political structure from the uncertainty and instability within the PDP.
The governor made the remarks at the primary election held at the Watershed Event Centre, Old Ife Road, where Abimbola Adekanmbi emerged as the APM governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
Makinde pointed to the presence of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the exercise as evidence that the process was credible and properly recognised. According to him, the electoral body would most likely have stayed away if the primary had been conducted under the crisis-plagued PDP platform.
He said his camp chose to move ahead of the unfolding crisis rather than remain trapped in the internal wrangling tearing the opposition party apart.
Using a popular Yoruba proverb about the squirrel, the governor suggested that his political tendency had acted wisely and strategically while others remained entangled in the PDP’s unresolved leadership battles.
Makinde also congratulated the party’s governorship flagbearer, party leaders, members, and supporters for what he described as a peaceful and successful primary election, expressing confidence that the new alliance would strengthen the party’s chances ahead of the 2027 governorship contest in Oyo State.