The political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections gained fresh momentum in Oyo State on Monday as the political structure of former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, led by his former Personal Assistant, Ajiboye Akande Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, formally defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
The defectors were formally received into the APM by the party’s presidential candidate and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, at the Boye Nation/JAF Movement Mega Concert held at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
The event, organised under the theme, “Young, United, Unstoppable (YUU),” attracted thousands of supporters and combined entertainment with political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sangogade, a political organiser in Ibadan and an ally of Adelabu, led members of the Boye Nation movement and other supporters into the APM, marking another realignment within the Oyo political landscape ahead of the elections.
Receiving the defectors, Makinde used the occasion to respond to criticisms by the Oyo State APC governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, over the deployment of diesel-powered generators to illuminate some streetlights across the state.
The governor challenged those criticising the use of generators to also recall the promise allegedly made by their political principal to resolve Nigeria’s electricity challenges within his first four years in office.
Makinde said: “Tell them their father and boss was the one who said if he doesn’t fix the light all over Nigeria within his first four years, no one should vote for him again.”
According to him, had the country’s electricity challenge been resolved as promised, governments would not have had to resort to diesel-powered generators to power streetlights and other public facilities.
He therefore argued that criticism of his administration over the use of generators should be viewed against the broader electricity challenges confronting the country.
The governor’s comments came amid heightened political activities in Oyo State as parties and candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 elections.
Makinde, who is seeking the presidency on the APM platform, also responded to comments concerning his professional qualifications.
He said his engineering credentials had been recognised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers, adding that he is a Fellow of the organisation.
He also highlighted the professional credentials of the APM governorship candidate in Oyo State, Bimbo Adekanbi, describing him as a graduate and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
Drawing an analogy from the legal profession, Makinde said lawyers who attain the highest professional recognition are designated Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), arguing that the absence of a corresponding designation even as low as “Junior Advocate of Nigeria” should have been attributed to the Senator’s appellation if he, according to the governor, has any reputation in the legal profession.
The governor consequently urged Senator Alli to concentrate on the governorship contest with the APM candidate, Adekanbi, his fellow contestant, rather than directing his attacks at him.