…says Oke-Ogun has utterly rejected Sarafa, will vote massively for Makinde, Adekanbi, all APM candidates
A former Majority Leader of the Oyo State House of Assembly and Special Adviser on Legislative Matters to Governor Seyi Makinde, Hon. Samuel Adejumobi, popularly known as Agbarapo, has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, as desperate, following a viral video showing him recording himself while buying fried fish from a local seller.
Agbarapo said the action indicated that Alli had resorted to social media theatrics and publicity stunts in an attempt to win the support of voters ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The governor’s aide, who reacted to the video, alleged that Alli’s desperation had reached an unprecedented level, claiming that the APC candidate had recruited social media content creators to follow him around and document what he described as public shenanigans.
He challenged Alli to produce video evidence of his interactions with ordinary market people during his tenure as Secretary to the State Government (SSG) or at any point during his nearly four years in the Senate.
According to Agbarapo, the sudden display of interest in the everyday activities of ordinary residents raises questions about the sincerity of the APC candidate’s engagement with the electorate.
He argued that politicians who rely on such methods to win public sympathy underestimate the political awareness of voters, insisting that the electorate would not be swayed by staged encounters or social media publicity alone.
“This is 2026, and the people are more politically aware than he seems to realise. You cannot suddenly begin to parade yourself as a friend of the ordinary people simply because an election is approaching,” Agbarapo said.
He urged Alli to stop what he described as an attempt to insult the emotional intelligence of the electorate through public displays and instead present concrete proposals on how he intends to develop Oyo State if elected governor.
Agbarapo maintained that the 2027 election should be about governance, performance and credible policy alternatives rather than publicity stunts, adding that the people deserved to know how the APC candidate intended to address the state’s economic and developmental challenges.
He also argued that political leadership should be earned through demonstrated capacity and performance, insisting that no society should reward such failure under Alli as a senator with only billboards credit to his name with greater responsibility.
“Governor Seyi Makinde won in 2019 and was rewarded by the people in 2023 because of his outstanding performance. That is a clear example of how a society rewards success,” he said.
The governor’s aide further alleged that Alli’s emergence as the APC governorship candidate was largely influenced by political interests in Abuja, arguing that the party had several young and vibrant politicians who could have contested for the ticket.
According to him, without what he described as the imposition of Alli on Oyo APC leaders by influential political forces in Abuja, the senator would not have had the opportunity to securing the party’s governorship ticket.
Agbarapo also questioned Alli’s reluctance to present a comprehensive economic blueprint for the state, stressing that the electorate should not be expected to entrust its future to a candidate without clearly detailed and articulated policies and programs.
He said the era when politicians could gamble with people’s lives through trial-and-error policies and subsequently resort to blame games was over.
“The people want to know what you intend to do differently. Where is your economic blueprint? What are your plans for workers, pensioners, traders, artisans, young people and the wider economy?
Publicity cannot replace a credible development agenda,” he said.
Speaking on the political outlook in Oke-Ogun, Agbarapo alleged that Alli had alienated voters in the geopolitical zone through comments he reportedly made earlier during a consultative tour ahead of the APC governorship primary.
He claimed that the senator had told people in the region that they were not yet qualified to produce a governor and should wait until after he had occupied the position before their aspiration could be considered.
Agbarapo described the alleged remarks as reckless and dismissive of the political aspirations of Oke-Ogun residents, arguing that they amounted to treating the zone’s people as second-class citizens.
He maintained that the people of Oke-Ogun would not forget such comments and would express their displeasure through their votes in the 2027 general election.
“Oke-Ogun people do not forget statements that seek to relegate them to second-class citizens. The people of the zone will have the opportunity to respond to Alli and the APC at the polls in 2027,” he said.
Agbarapo expressed confidence that Governor Makinde, the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Bimbo Adekanbi, and other candidates of the party would enjoy overwhelming support across Oke-Ogun.
He argued that the APM had continued to strengthen its grassroots structures through sustained engagement and mobilisation, expressing optimism that the party would record another decisive victory in the state.
The former House of Assembly Majority Leader said no amount of propaganda or promises, which he described as false hope, would return the APC to the Agodi Government House in 2027.
He added that workers, pensioners, traders and artisans in the state still remembered what he characterised as the APC’s dark era in Oyo State, insisting that their experiences would influence their choices at the next governorship election.
Agbarapo called on APM members and supporters across Oke-Ogun to intensify grassroots mobilisation and engage residents on the party’s political agenda ahead of the polls.
He urged party members to remain united and committed to securing victory for Makinde, Adekanbi and all APM candidates, expressing confidence that the party’s grassroots campaign would translate into substantial electoral gains in 2027.