A crack appears to be emerging within the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) as the party’s South-South state chairmen have passed a vote of no confidence in its presidential candidate, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, over his handling of the party’s campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The chairmen accused Makinde of sidelining established party structures and appointing campaign coordinators who are allegedly not members of the APM.
In a joint statement obtained by Politics Nigeria on Wednesday, the six state chairmen expressed concern over what they described as inadequate recognition, consultation and engagement with the party’s established leadership in organising the presidential campaign.
The statement was signed by Dagodog Whyte of Rivers State, Hon. Pst. Mrs Peace Osarama of Bayelsa State, Utuku Abangaye Edet of Akwa Ibom State, Ugoigwe Onyeka Ogechukwu of Edo State, Prince Henry Ese of Delta State and Ntami Nkanu Esage of Cross River State.
They questioned Makinde’s leadership approach, accusing him of dishonesty, financial impropriety and incompetence.
“We have realised that our Presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde lacks substance, the political will and focus to lead us aright as a Presidential candidate,” the statement read.
The chairmen further alleged that Makinde had failed to work with existing party structures across the country, opting instead to appoint campaign coordinators from outside the APM.
“Rather than work with established structures in the 36 states of the Federation that he met on ground, Seyi Makinde has planted coordinators of his Presidential campaign in the 36 states of the federation from outside our Party, all of whom are not card carrying members of our Party APM,” they said.
They accused the governor of treating the party as a platform for his personal political ambition rather than respecting its existing structures.
“It thus appears that Seyi Makinde came to our Party, only to make merchandise of us, whereas APM is not a trading company,” the statement added.
The chairmen insisted that the party’s leadership hierarchy must be recognised in decisions concerning its presidential campaign, stressing that the APM operates under a constitution and established procedures.
“The Party hierarchy must not be treated as an appendage to an individual political ambition. Rather, it must be recognized as an essential institution responsible for maintaining party identity, coordinating grassroots mobilisation and sustaining organizational discipline,” they stated.
Consequently, the South-South chairmen, in consultation with the zone’s governorship candidates, National Assembly candidates and State House of Assembly candidates, declared a vote of no confidence in Makinde’s conduct of the presidential campaign.
They said their position was informed by their commitment to protecting the party’s unity and institutional integrity.
“We have invested our time, resources and political capital in building the Party structures across the South-South zone and we will not allow political hoodlums to destabilise a Party we all laboured to build,” the statement read.
The chairmen, however, expressed confidence in the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), led by its National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, who also serves as the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
They urged the national leadership to continue working towards strengthening the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We accordingly pass a vote of confidence on the NWC and our National Chairman and implore them to continue to work towards making APM a formidable force in Nigeria, ahead of the 2027 elections,” they said.
The South-South leaders also passed a vote of confidence in their national leader, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, commending what they described as his exemplary and focused leadership.
Despite their rejection of Makinde’s campaign leadership, the chairmen said they had yet to decide on their position regarding the presidential election.
“At the appropriate time we, the South-South chairmen of the APM shall reconvene to take a decision on the Presidential election as the Niger Delta is too wide to be cajoled by Political jobbers,” they declared.
