APM Crisis Deepens As 6 South-South Chairmen Boycott Makinde’s Town Hall

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has been thrown into an internal crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections as chairmen of its six South-South states boycotted a presidential town hall meeting organised by the party’s presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, and passed a vote of no confidence in him.

The chairmen accused the Oyo State governor of sidelining the party’s established leadership structures in the coordination of his presidential campaign, alleging that he had failed to consult or adequately recognise party officials across the states.

The development followed Makinde’s South-South presidential campaign town hall meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday.

The chairmen’s position was contained 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.”

In the statement, the party officials said their decision followed deliberations on the state of the party and its relationship with Makinde, stressing the need to protect internal democracy, accountability and organisational discipline.

While acknowledging the importance of the 2027 general elections and the need for party members to work together towards achieving the APM’s objectives, they accused the presidential candidate of failing to respect the party’s existing structures in decisions concerning 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 chairmen further 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 also alleged that the governor had appointed coordinators for his presidential campaign across the 36 states from outside the party, rather than working with existing APM 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 party officials maintained that Makinde’s status as its presidential candidate did not exempt him from complying with the party’s constitution and established procedures.

They insisted that the APM’s national, zonal, state, local government and ward structures must be respected, warning against subordinating the party’s leadership to an individual’s political ambition.

The six chairmen said their decision was reached in consultation with the zone’s governorship candidates, National Assembly candidates and state House of Assembly candidates.

They stressed that their vote of no confidence was specifically directed at Makinde’s handling of his presidential campaign without adequate recognition of the party’s established leadership structures across the South-South states.

“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.

Despite their grievances against Makinde, the 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 the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).

They passed a vote of confidence in the NWC and urged the national leadership to continue working towards strengthening the party ahead of the 2027 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 passed a vote of confidence in the party’s National Leader and Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, commending what they described as his exemplary and focused leadership.

They, however, said they would reconvene at an appropriate time to determine their position on the presidential election, insisting that the Niger Delta could not be swayed by political jobbers.

The statement was signed by the APM chairmen in Rivers State, Dagogo Whyte; Bayelsa State, Peace Oruama; Akwa Ibom State, Uduak Edet; Edo State, Ugiagbe Ogieriakhi; Delta State, Henry Eze; and Cross River State, Ntami Nkanu Esege.

The chairmen also passed a vote of confidence in the party’s National Leader and Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, praising what they described as his exemplary and focused leadership.

They said they would reconvene at the appropriate time to decide on their position regarding the presidential election, insisting that the Niger Delta could not be swayed by political jobbers.

The statement was signed by the APM chairmen in Rivers State, Dagogo Whyte; Bayelsa State, Peace Oruama; Akwa Ibom State, Uduak Edet; Edo State, Ugiagbe Ogieriakhi; Delta State, Henry Eze; and Cross River State, Ntami Nkanu Esege.

Makinde held a South-South presidential campaign town hall meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday.