The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, has faced strong backlash from Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke following his remarks about the APC’s plans to dominate the South-West politically.
Ganduje had declared the APC’s intention to take over Oyo and Osun states after its victory in Ondo State, sparking sharp criticism from opposition leaders and stakeholders.
During a press briefing in Akure on Sunday, Ganduje stated, “Our next target now is the South-West geopolitical zone, and you know we are good at hitting the target, and this is Osun State and Oyo State. We will do all that is possible to bring them into the fold so that we have political homogeneity in the South-West geopolitical zone.”
Governor Makinde, through his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju, dismissed Ganduje’s statement as unrealistic. He reaffirmed that Oyo State under his leadership would remain committed to the PDP.
The Oyo PDP’s acting Publicity Secretary, Micheal Ogunsina, described Ganduje’s comments as a threat to the progress achieved under Makinde’s governance. He criticized the APC for focusing on power grabs instead of addressing Nigeria’s economic and social challenges.
“It is a shame that instead of easing people’s burden, what preoccupies the mind of the APC and its leadership are the capture of states and the abduction of people’s destinies. Where then is the difference between what the APC does and what forest bandits do?
“Our people are tired of a party and people that are progressive only in name. Ganduje and his cohorts who want to extend the pains of APC to Oyo State should stop plotting against God and the people. We reject the curse from Ganduje and his APC; our God, who hates the wicked, rejects them too.
“Our state has been an oasis of peace, ease and good governance in the midst of the ruins wreaked by the APC across the country. We do not intend to surrender our freedom to predators. And we will not.
“Perhaps we should let the APC people know that no sensible person in Oyo State wants to be inflicted with greater pains than what the people bear now from APC’s misrule.
“A ruling party with a conscience would, by now, be working very hard to repair the damage it has done to the economy of our country and the finances of the people. But, because APC cannot give what it does not have, it is not concerned at all about the people’s plight. Its politics is solely about grabbing power, capturing states and snatching people’s joy,” the Oyo PDP said.
Similarly, Osun Governor Adeleke, through his media aide Olawale Rasheed, condemned Ganduje’s remarks as undemocratic and warned against undermining voter rights. Adeleke stated that Osun’s political culture is built on freedom and resistance to coercion, emphasizing that external pressures would not dictate the state’s governance.
“As a well-read politician, one would have expected Dr Ganduje to know that electoral contests depend mostly on local indexes and factors and what is obtained in Edo and Ondo are surely different from political facts on the ground in Osun State. Local permutations, grievances, and interests dictate how people vote rather than superimposed force.
“Osun State is the cradle of Yoruba people where political freedom is cherished and where resistance to electoral fraud is a strong tradition. Ganduje is a threat to democracy and an insider enemy of President Tinubu.
“If Dr Ganduje truly loves Mr President, why is he pushing to destabilise the President’s home zone through open threats to violate electoral law and deny the electorate their rights to vote and be voted for? By threatening to hijack opposition states, the APC leader is undermining the consensus among Yoruba people, which accept Mr President as their own irrespective of political differences.
“If however the statement of the APC leader is borne out of ignorance, he is invited to study Osun politics to get better informed of the dynamics of this state’s politics and to appreciate that what works in Edo and Ondo cannot play out here for several reasons,” Adeleke said.
Critics from other political parties also joined the debate. The PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, accused the APC of manipulating elections and fostering a one-party system.
He said, “It is a wishful statement and an alarming statement at the same time that should be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians. What happened in Edo and Ondo states are not elections, but manipulations to install their selected candidates. It is a power grab and very dangerous for our democracy.
“The system is being run as if we operate a one-party system, rather than the multi-party system that we have. The APC-led Federal Government is more focused on using security to achieve electoral victory, rather than using security for the benefit of all.
“Rather than focusing on insecurity and economic challenges, the ruling party is concerned about priding itself on how it rigged its way into power from one state to another in the office-cycle elections.”
Labour Party spokesperson Obiora Ifoh echoed these sentiments, arguing that current economic hardships make it unlikely for voters to support the APC in the South-West.
