The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation has hit back at Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde following the governor’s recent remarks about the professional credentials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 election. The campaign organisation accused Makinde of attempting to discredit Alli rather than defending his administration’s record.
In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, the organisation questioned Makinde’s record as an engineer, particularly over the state’s streetlighting project. It alleged that more than N250 billion had been spent powering streetlights with diesel generators, describing the arrangement as evidence of what it called poor planning and questionable use of public resources. The figure was presented by the campaign organisation and has not been independently verified.
The group also criticised the renovation of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, alleging that despite an investment of more than N5 billion, the facility was unable to meet requirements for Shooting Stars Sports Club to host certain continental fixtures. It questioned the quality and certification of the renovation and asked what the state government had achieved with the expenditure.
The campaign organisation further defended Alli against Makinde’s earlier comments questioning his experience as a lawyer. Oladele described the governor’s remarks as evidence of “ignorance” and “bitterness” over the possibility of Alli succeeding him in 2027. The organisation also accused Makinde of repeatedly mentioning Alli in his public engagements, saying the frequency showed the senator had become a major focus of the governor’s political attention.
The Oyo State Government has, however, defended the projects. Makinde’s Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, said the use of generators for streetlights was necessitated by unreliable electricity from the national grid, while noting that the government had built a 5MW solar plant being upgraded to 12MW. He also defended the stadium renovation, saying further upgrades were being carried out to meet evolving international standards.
