The All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a swipe at Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, whom it described as the leading but shoddy drummer for his 2027 political ambition.

Makinde is said to be nursing a presidential ambition on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against President Bola Tinubu, also from the South-west geopolitical zone, like him in the 2027 polls.

APC said that while Nigeria’s democracy affords Makinde the liberty to pursue his political aspirations, engaging in reckless executive flippancy at the expense of the job he was elected to do as Governor was a disservice to the good people of Oyo State.

In a Sunday statement by its National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, the ruling party said the Oyo governor had, at a recent event in Ibadan, blamed the APC for the turmoil in his party, the PDP, and other opposition parties.

Morka said, at the same time, Makinde bragged that a decision to cooperate with his Osun counterpart to advance the interest of his “moribund party” in southwest Nigeria would be beyond the influence of APC.

He said: “If Makinde knew how best to keep APC’s influence at bay, why has he not executed that strategy in “protection” of his party nationally? Like the proverbial lousy workman who blames his tools, Makinde and his co-confused leaders of the PDP should quit pointing fingers at the APC and take full responsibility for their disgraceful failure to handle the party’s implosion and decay.

“Makinde’s unhinged 2027 ambition cannot be founded upon his unguarded and unjustified attacks against our great Party or the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that has launched the boldest and most ambitious reform effort in history to transform our country’s economy and build a solid foundation for progress.

“Governor Makinde has failed to prove himself as an effective leader—his lacklustre performance as Governor speaks for itself and undermines his credibility. Instead of prioritising the needs of the Oyo people who elected him to tackle their local issues, he has chosen to divert his attention and squander the state’s resources to pursue unhinged 2027 ambition. Makinde must know that Nigeria’s scale and complexities demand more than his vain and self-indulgent ambition.

“Makinde cannot even speak for the people of Oyo state regarding their future electoral choices or decisions, let alone speak for Nigerians. Makinde and his partisan cohorts are only worried that the looming transformation and prosperity from  President Tinubu’s economic policies will consign their 2027 ambitions and calculations into the trash bin of political irrelevance.

“We urge Nigerians to continue to stand firm in support of President Tinubu as the administration’s reform policies begin to yield the desired benefits for all Nigerians.”