After allowing them to win with wide margin in the recently concluded Presidential Election, the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State has advised the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, of the Peoples Democratic Party, to prepare for his imminent defeat in the March 11 governorship election in the state.

The Director-General of Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance, Adebayo Shittu, gave the advice, on Wednesday, at a press conference in Ibadan.

He said, “It will be recalled that Oyo State, as one of the foremost Yoruba states, had always been ruled by progressive parties under different names and colours.

“However, the state fell into bad times under the last administration of the late Ishaq Ajimobi. Unfortunately, he could not manage the APC primaries for Local Governments, State Assembly, governorship and National Assembly.

“Consequently, all party members who aspired for one position or the other and who were wrongly disenfranchised decided to leave the party. Apart from exiting the APC, most of them joined Seyi Makinde and the rival PDP to defeat the APC in the 2019 general election.”

He said that development saw the emergence of Makinde as the state governor without the needed psychological preparation or required political experience.

According to him, “The results of last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections have shown clearly that our patriotic citizens of Oyo State have unanimously resolved to completely submit and support our great party, the APC, with almost half a million votes for our presidential candidate.”

The PDP state was won with wide margin by APC during the recent presidential election.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu ,Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the election in Oyo.

Tinubu scored 449, 884 to beat Atiku Abubakar of the PDP who polled 182, 977.

Babatunde Olushola Kehinde, a Professor, Oyo State Presidential Election Presiding Officer, Professor who is the Acting Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta said Labour Party came distance third with 99, 110 votes, Accord had 39,514 votes while the NNPP scored 4, 095 votes.

18 political parties participated in the election.

Announcing the result Kehinde stated that the number of Registered voters in the state were 3, 237,310 while accredited voters stands at 854, 439.

The total valid voted stands at 809, 485, the Rejected votes were 42, 471 out of a total of 851, 956 votes cast.

According to him, with 449,884 votes scored by the candidate of the All Progressive Congress in the Presidential election, the party and therefore its candidate is declared the winner in Oyo State.

Supporting, the APC Presidential Campaign Committee (PCC) in Oyo State  dismissed any standing agreement between the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, and Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as being speculated ahead of the March 11, 2023 governorship poll.

In a statement signed by the Chairman, Central Media Presidential Gubernatorial Council, Mr. Kehinde Olaosebikan, the party said Makinde was only deceiving his members.

A member of the PCC, Nike Ajagbe, said Tinubu’s visit to Makinde on Thursday, February 16, 2023, during the presidential rally in Ibadan, had nothing to do with endorsement of the governor.

She described the president-elect as a party man, who cannot joke with the success of his party across the country, especially the South West, which is regarded as his stronghold.

Ajagbe explained that it was in the programme of the APC PCC to visit all the opposition governors whenever they are in their state for campaign; hence, nobody should see it as endorsement, but a privilege to host a widely accepted presidential candidate. Her words: “Being the governor of the state, the president-elect only visited Makinde as he did to other opposition governors whenever he visited their states.”

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, the presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu visited Gov Seyi Makinde at the Government House in Ibadan – an uncommon visit many has considered deal making since Mr Makinde has over time proven to be a powerful governor.

That month, Tinubu and other party chieftains in Nigeria were also in Ibadan for the presidential rally of the party.