Tinubu Can’t Boast Of Completing 250km Roads In The South West, APM Claims

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has claimed that President Bola Tinubu cannot comfortably boast of initiating, executing and completing up to 250 kilometres of roads in the entire Southwest region since assumption of office in 2023 despite the huge financial resources at his disposal.

The party started this while criticising the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the exclusion of its presidential candidate and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, from the flag-off ceremony of the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode federal road project.

The party alleged that the Tinubu administration and the All Progressives Congress (APC) deliberately kept Makinde away from the event because of his popularity and performance in Oyo State.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, the APM said the presence of Makinde at the ceremony would have drawn attention to what it described as the president’s poor performance in road infrastructure across the Southwest.

The party claimed that while Tinubu could not “comfortably boast of initiating, executing and completing up to 250 kilometres of roads in the entire Southwest” since assuming office in 2023, Makinde had executed more than 360 kilometres of roads in Oyo State alone.

“The Tinubu Presidency and the APC were scared that Makinde’s presence at the event would have further exposed President Tinubu’s failures, as the APM presidential candidate has done far better than the President in the last three years, including in the execution of road projects,” the statement said.

According to the party, Makinde’s record in Oyo State would have provided a basis for comparison with the performance of the Federal Government.

“The Tinubu Presidency is afraid that with Governor Makinde at the ceremony, reference would have been made to the fact that while Mr President, who is from the Southwest, cannot comfortably boast of initiating, executing and completing up to 250 kilometres of roads in the entire Southwest since assumption of office in 2023 despite the huge financial resources at his disposal, Governor Makinde had executed over 360 kilometres of roads in Oyo State alone, with more lined up for commissioning,” it said.

The APM also accused the APC of being uncomfortable with Makinde’s ability to unite political leaders and governors across the country on major national issues.

“Furthermore, the APC is uneasy over Governor Makinde’s leadership prowess in uniting and galvanising other governors, leaders and stakeholders across the country on major national issues; a situation that would definitely gravitate attention towards him at such an event,” the party said.

The party further suggested that the president’s absence from the ceremony could also have been linked to concerns over Makinde’s popularity.

“It is also evident that the fear of Governor Makinde’s popularity could be the reason behind President Tinubu’s absence at the ceremony,” the statement added.

The APM, however, said it was not perturbed by the development, insisting that the ruling party and the president could not avoid Makinde indefinitely.

“In any case, our party and candidate are not perturbed by the incident. The APC and the Tinubu Presidency must note that they cannot run from Governor Makinde forever. They must surely meet him at the poll in January 2027, where the will of millions of Nigerians in preference for Governor Makinde as the replacement for President Tinubu cannot be suppressed,” the party said.