The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has been hit by an internal crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections after chairmen of its six South-South states boycotted a presidential campaign town hall meeting organised by the party’s presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, and passed a vote of no confidence in him.
The chairmen accused Makinde, the Oyo State governor, of sidelining the party’s established leadership structures in coordinating his presidential campaign, alleging that he had failed to consult or adequately recognise party officials across the region.
The disagreement followed Makinde’s South-South presidential campaign town hall meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday.
The chairmen announced their position in a statement titled, “South-South Chairmen of APM/Governorship Candidates/National Assembly Candidates Boycott South-South Presidential Town Hall Meeting, Pass a Vote of No Confidence on Our Presidential Candidate, Seyi Makinde.”
They said their decision followed deliberations on the state of the party and its relationship with the presidential candidate, stressing that internal democracy, accountability and organisational discipline must be protected.
While acknowledging the importance of the 2027 elections and the need for members to work together towards the party’s objectives, the chairmen accused Makinde of failing to respect existing party structures in decisions relating to his campaign.
“We have realised that our Presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde lacks substance, the political will and focus to lead us aright as a Presidential candidate. He came to the party with a promise of lies and has been wallowing in an ocean of dishonesty, political compromise and incompetence. If he cannot be honest to his party men, how can he be honest to Nigerians he aspires to lead?” the statement read.
The party officials also described Makinde as a “political deadwood”, alleging that he joined the APM from a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that had become politically ineffective.
They further accused him of appointing presidential campaign coordinators across the 36 states from outside the APM instead of working through the party’s existing structures.
“All of whom are not card carrying members of our Party APM. It thus appears that Seyi Makinde came to our Party, only to make merchandise of us, whereas APM is not a trading company. We affirm that the APM is an institution governed by its constitution, established procedures and recognized leadership structures,” they said.
The chairmen maintained that Makinde’s position as the party’s presidential candidate did not exempt him from complying with its constitution and established procedures.
They insisted that the party’s national, zonal, state, local government and ward structures must be respected, warning against subordinating the organisation’s leadership to the ambitions of an individual.
According to the statement, the decision was reached in consultation with the zone’s governorship candidates, National Assembly candidates and state House of Assembly candidates.
The chairmen said their opposition was directed specifically at Makinde’s handling of his presidential campaign without adequate recognition of the party’s established leadership structures across the South-South.
“We wish to emphasise that our concerns arise from our commitment to the survival, unity and institutional integrity of the Allied Peoples Movement. We have invested our time, resources and political capital in building the party structures across the South-South zone and we will not allow political hoodlums to destabilise a party we all laboured to build,” the statement added.
Chairmen Back APM National Leadership
Despite their grievances against Makinde, the six chairmen reaffirmed their support for the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), led by its National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, who also serves as national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
They passed a vote of confidence in the NWC and Dantalle, urging the national leadership to continue strengthening the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We, however, have our utmost respect for the NWC of our Party led by our indefatigable National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, who also doubles as the National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC). We accordingly pass a vote of confidence on the NWC and our National Chairman and implore them to continue to work towards making our Party a formidable force in Nigeria, ahead of the 2027 elections,” the statement read.
The chairmen also expressed confidence in the party’s National Leader and Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, praising what they described as his exemplary and focused leadership.
However, they said they would reconvene at an appropriate time to determine their position on the presidential election.
They also insisted that political interests would not sway the Niger Delta, signalling that their disagreement with Makinde could have implications for the party’s campaign in the region.
The statement was signed by the six state chairmen: Dagogo Whyte of Rivers State, Peace Oruama of Bayelsa State, Uduak Edet of Akwa Ibom State, Ugiagbe Ogieriakhi of Edo State, Henry Eze of Delta State and Ntami Nkanu Esege of Cross River State.
The boycott and vote of no confidence highlight growing tensions within the party’s South-South structure as political organisations prepare for the 2027 elections. The chairmen, however, did not announce a final decision on whether they would support Makinde’s presidential bid, saying they would address that question at a later meeting.
