A fresh political dispute has emerged in Oyo State after the campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, accused Governor Seyi Makinde of allegedly paralysing the state’s 33 local government areas.
The allegation has been rejected by the Oyo State Government, which challenged the APC campaign team to provide evidence identifying the local governments it claims are no longer functioning effectively.
The controversy comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Alli and Makinde on opposing sides of the emerging political contest in the state.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation, Bisi Oladele, accused Makinde of undermining the local government system during his seven years in office as governor.
The campaign organisation argued that the alleged situation in Oyo State should be a matter of concern to Nigerians as Makinde has emerged as the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement.
The group claimed that Makinde’s alleged approach to local government administration in Oyo could have implications for the wider country if replicated at the national level.
The campaign organisation also criticised the APM’s call for President Bola Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, questioning the party’s nationwide political structures and capacity to compete across the country.
According to the group, Makinde still faces political challenges in his home state and should demonstrate strength within Oyo before seeking to lead the country.
However, the Oyo State Government rejected the allegation of local government paralysis, describing it as inconsistent with documented activities and projects across the state.
The Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said local government councils and Local Council Development Areas had continued to execute projects in various parts of Oyo State.
Oyelade listed projects covering roads, bridges, drainage, markets, electricity, water supply, schools, public buildings and security infrastructure as evidence of ongoing activities at the local level.
Among the projects cited by the commissioner were the 14.1-kilometre Eruwa-Lanlate-Maya Road in Ibarapa East, the 15.75-kilometre Igbole Express Road to the Ibarapa Central boundary and the 10-kilometre Omi-Adio Junction-Ido Junction Road.
He also mentioned the approximately six-kilometre Akobo Ojurin-Olorunda Abaa Road in Lagelu and the 6.45-kilometre Olodo Garage-Kasumu/Ajia Junction Road in Egbeda.
The commissioner maintained that the existence of these projects contradicted the claim that local governments in the state had been paralysed.
He acknowledged that the Alli campaign organisation had the right to criticise the Makinde administration as part of democratic discourse but insisted that political criticism should be supported by facts.
Oyelade therefore challenged Alli’s campaign organisation to specify the local government areas it considered paralysed and identify the functions that had allegedly stopped.
He also requested details of projects purportedly abandoned because of the alleged paralysis, as well as evidence supporting the claims.
The disagreement highlights the increasingly competitive political environment in Oyo State ahead of the 2027 elections. With political parties and candidates already intensifying their campaigns, governance records, infrastructure development and the performance of local government institutions are expected to remain important subjects of political debate.
For now, the two sides remain divided over the condition of local government administration in the state. While Alli’s campaign organisation has alleged widespread dysfunction, the state government has pointed to completed and ongoing projects as evidence of continued activity and has demanded specific evidence to substantiate the allegation.
