Makinde would have sold Nigeria in exchange for cash, if he were president, Oyo APC reacts to criticism of Tinubu
BY STEPHEN GBADAMOSI
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has disclosed that Nigeria is lucky “not to have elected somebody like Governor Seyi Makinde as its leader in 2023, otherwise, the world’s most populous black nation would have been sold to interested buyers from other countries while the proceeds would have ended in his pocket.”
This scathing remark came against the backdrop of Governor Makinde’s recent description of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms as ill-motivated and wrong.
The governor, who spoke through a representative on Monday in Abeokuta during the unveiling of all the Ogun State’s candidates of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for the 2027 polls, expressed his readiness to dislodge the APC from the Presidential Villa in the next year’s general elections.
The APC, which reacted to Governor Makinde’s salvo in a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, said “no amount of warped criticisms and shadow boxing would make Nigerians choose a failed governor to replace a performing man as the nation’s president in 2027.
“The difference between President Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde, in terms of experience, reputation and results, is like that of the distance between heaven and earth.
“Therefore, we would not submit ourselves to invitation to macabre dance from him (Makinde), even as the whole world knows that he is on a journey to nowhere, as far as the 2027 general elections are concerned.
“Governor Makinde can afford to condemn the bold and courageous steps taken by President Tinubu in 2023, as he is wont to playing to the gallery, but all the informed minds and reputable global institutions cannot be wrong in their overwhelming applause to the president who has not only saved Nigeria from imminent collapse and extinction, but also working tirelessly to place the country in its rightful place among the comity of nations.
“The Oyo State governor swims in a pool of money as a result of huge financial resources being made available to his state and the 33 local government areas in the state by the Tinubu-led administration; but he has little to show for it in terms of provision of improved security, quality infrastructure, job opportunities, among other things, for the residents of the Pacesetters State.
“As it stands today, Oyo State is found at the bottom of the table among the 36 states in the areas of growth and development.
“As a matter of fact, Governor Makinde would have considered selling off Nigeria as the best option, if he was the president faced with the quantum of challenges which President Tinubu encountered on assumption of office in 2023.
“A Makinde who has transferred virtually all the assets of Oyo State to the wrong hands in exchange for cash in seven years would have sold Rivers, Niger and Benue as well as the nation’s portion of the Atlantic Ocean, if he had the opportunity.
“To this end, Nigerians will never make the mistake of trusting him with their mandate,” Sadare added.
