The Presidential Campaign Organisation of Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has described the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council as a “coalition of failed politicians,” adding that it cannot prevent President Bola Tinubu from suffering imminent defeat in the 2027 general election.
Makinde’s Allied Peoples Movement Council, in a statement on Wednesday, by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, described the council as a “Nebuchadnezzar Coalition” heading for political humiliation, citing worsening insecurity, economic hardship and declining public confidence in the Tinubu administration.
The Council stated, “This Nebuchadnezzar Coalition is headed for the rocks as it cannot whitewash the failures of the Tinubu administration, nor rewrite the painful realities confronting citizens. It cannot manufacture public acceptance through a parade of “political predators” and power-drunk elites who are mistaking political dominance for public acceptance.
“With the high confidence that President Tinubu reposes in this alliance of failed governors, yes-along legislators, and discredited politicians, some of whom are fleeing from corruption investigations, even as his administration presides over an unprecedented economic crisis, worsening insecurity and a devastating collapse of public confidence, we see in the APC Presidential Campaign Council imminent political humiliation.
“History is replete with the humiliation of those who mistake transitory power for permanence while reinforcing their illusions by surrounding themselves with compensated loyalists and sycophants, who do not command the loyalty or followership of the people, rather than confront the stark reality of failures.
“What explanation will the Nebuchadnezzar Coalition offer Nigerians for the 140 million citizens (63% of the population) now trapped in multidimensional poverty according to a World Bank Report and the 113 million experiencing deprivation in health, education and other basics occasioned by President Tinubu’s misrule?”
The organisation questioned how the APC campaign council would explain the growing hardship faced by millions of Nigerian families and the rising unemployment among youths, which it blamed on Tinubu’s policies.
It also cited a Federal Government disclosure that 70 per cent of Nigerian children under the age of 10 could not read and understand a simple sentence.
The Makinde Campaign said the figures reflected the country’s deepening socio-economic challenges and declining human capital, arguing that the APC campaign council could not replace accountability and measurable results amid widespread hunger, homelessness and illiteracy.
It continued, “President Tinubu is on a collision course with the people. He faces a defining battle between the arrogance of power and the democratic resolve of a battered population, driven to the brink by deepening socio-economic hardship, for which they ultimately seek liberation.
“No coalition or power of incumbency can insulate President Tinubu from the consequences of misrule. None can extinguish mounting public grievances, erase the memory of broken promises or override the people’s constitutional right to demand accountability and change.
“The APC can further enlarge their Nebuchadnezzar Coalition, but it certainly cannot assemble the Nigerian people by force of political influence. Elections are not won by the size of a campaign council, or the number of powerful figures gathered. They are won by the confidence of citizens who must ultimately decide whether their lives have improved under the government seeking their votes.
“In every democracy, the ultimate verdict belongs to the people, and no presidential campaign council, however imposing, can stand between a disillusioned people and their determination for a change through the ballot.”
The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday unveiled the list of members of President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign council, comprising leaders of the ruling party and some opposition figures.
Among the notable opposition leaders listed are Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance; Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party; and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, leader of the Peoples Democratic Party.