APM faults FG over Ibadan-Ijebu Ode road flag-off, alleging the project was turned into a political gathering without Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde.

The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has criticised the Federal Government over the Monday flag-off of the dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode road, accusing the administration of turning infrastructure provision into political gatherings.

The party expressed concern over the exclusion of its presidential candidate and Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, from the event, despite the project being located partly in Oyo State.
The criticism came at a time when the Managing Director of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), a Federal Government agency, commended Governor Makinde for rehabilitating Federal Government roads in the state.
In a statement signed on Tuesday by the National Publicity Secretary of APM, Abubakar Yusuf, the party regretted what it described as the reduction of basic infrastructure provision under the Tinubu administration to political ceremonies and gatherings.
Yusuf said the invitation of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rasheed Ladoja, APC leaders, the Oyo State governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Ali, and other APC members to the Federal Government project amounted to a breach of protocol by the Tinubu administration and members of his cabinet, particularly the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi.
He appealed to the Federal Government not to overheat the polity by allegedly instigating the traditional institution against the Oyo State Government. He also described the invitation of the Olubadan to the ceremony without the consent of the Oyo State Governor and government as wrong.
Yusuf said the party was aware of what he described as subtle efforts by the Federal Government to use traditional rulers in Oyo State against the state government, particularly following the recent visit of traditional rulers to President Bola Tinubu to appreciate him for the release of abducted Orire schoolchildren and teachers.
He questioned why traditional rulers from Oyo embarked on the thank-you visit without the presence of the state’s Chief Security Officer, Governor Seyi Makinde.
The APM spokesperson appealed to traditional rulers in the state to stay away from politics. He also advised the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rasheed Ladoja, to distinguish between politics and tradition, particularly as a former governor of the state and now the Olubadan of Ibadan.
Recalling the role of former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose in what he described as a false alarm over attempts to dethrone the Olubadan a few months after his coronation, Yusuf maintained that it was uncultured and abnormal for the traditional institution to become deeply involved in political activities.
He said the APM presidential candidate, Engr. Seyi Makinde, remained determined to “Reset Nigeria” through good governance rather than merely seeking political power, as he accused the APC-led Federal Government of propagating.