Alli claims Oyo LGs are inactive, government asks for proof

The campaign team of Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, has accused Governor Seyi Makinde of making the state's 33 local governments inactive. They warned that if he becomes President in 2027, it could harm local government operations across Nigeria.

But the Oyo State government called this claim misleading and challenged Alli's team to provide proof for their allegations.

In a statement on Saturday, Bisi Oladele, the Director of Media and Publicity for Alli's campaign, accused Makinde, who is also the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, of weakening the local government system during his seven years as governor. They said Nigerians should be careful about letting his record in Oyo State happen on a national level.

The campaign group also described the APM's call for President Bola Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 election as “political hallucination.” They said the party must first show that it has the national structure and support to compete for the presidency.

“APM’s Makinde does not support the third tier of government in Nigeria, and this is clear from his seven-year anti-local government rule in Oyo State,” the statement said.

The group challenged the APM to share details of its political structures across Nigeria and prove it can effectively compete in states and the Federal Capital Territory.

They also claimed that Makinde still faces political challenges in his home state, stating that he has made the 33 local governments inactive.

“More importantly, even Governor Seyi Makinde, whom the APM now promotes as its presidential candidate, has serious political battles to fight in Oyo where he has made the 33 local governments inactive over the last seven years.

“A man wanting to lead Nigeria must first show strong political power in his own area. Charity, as the saying goes, begins at home,” the group stated.

The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, rejected the accusation. He said it contradicts the documented projects done across the state.

Oyelade, in a statement shared with Sunday PUNCH, mentioned that local government councils and Local Council Development Areas have completed projects in roads, bridges, drainage, markets, electricity, water supply, schools, public buildings, and security.

He listed some of these projects like the 14.1km Eruwa-Lanlate-Maya Road in Ibarapa East, the 15.75km Igbole Express Road towards the Ibarapa Central boundary, the 10km Omi-Adio Junction-Ido Junction Road, the roughly 6km Akobo Ojurin-Olorunda Abaa Road in Lagelu, and the 6.45km Olodo Garage-Kasumu/Ajia Junction Road in Egbeda.

“The claim that local governments have become inactive does not match the documented evidence of projects being done and finished across the state.

“The Alli campaign team may disagree with Governor Seyi Makinde and criticize the Oyo State Government’s policies. That is part of democracy, but political criticism must be based on facts,” the commissioner said.

He challenged the Alli campaign team to identify the local government areas they believe are inactive, the functions that have stopped, the projects that have been abandoned due to the alleged inactivity, and any evidence to back their claims.