The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has pushed back against claims linking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the mounting crises within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that Governor Seyi Makinde should bear full responsibility for the party’s decline.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Olawale Sadare, the APC argued that persistent attempts to blame the President for the opposition party’s setbacks were both misguided and politically expedient.
Sadare maintained that the PDP’s internal collapse was self-inflicted, stressing that the party’s leadership structure had long been weakened by poor decisions and a lack of internal discipline. He said the current turmoil only reflects years of negligence by PDP stakeholders.
According to him, Governor Makinde’s emergence as the sole PDP governor in Southern Nigeria — with only a handful remaining in the North — underscores a broader leadership vacuum that has left the party struggling to reposition itself.
He said the governor lacked the political capacity and experience required to steady the party at the national level, adding that his stewardship had contributed significantly to its dwindling influence.
“Rather than seek internal solutions, elders and leaders within the PDP abandoned their responsibilities and allowed Governor Makinde to take over the reins,” Sadare stated. “His limitations have compounded the party’s woes, culminating in the near-collapse of a platform that once boasted national prominence.”
He further argued that the exodus of PDP governors under Makinde’s watch raised fundamental questions about his motives and long-term vision for the party.
Sadare urged Nigerians to allow President Tinubu to focus on governance, noting that attempts to drag him into the PDP’s internal battles were unfair and unnecessary.
“The President has a national mandate to deliver on, and it is only rational that he be allowed to concentrate on his duties without being distracted by crises he did not create,” he added.
