The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed suggestions that President Bola Tinubu is responsible for the escalating crises within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that Governor Seyi Makinde and a few other leaders in the opposition party should be held accountable for its steady downfall.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo APC described those linking Tinubu to the PDP’s misfortunes as “uninformed minds,” arguing that the party’s internal failures stem from “naivety, pride and insincerity” on the part of its own leaders.
Sadare lamented that a party once dominant in Nigeria’s political landscape has deteriorated into “a shadow of itself,” losing serving governors, federal and state lawmakers, and key members to rival political platforms—especially the APC.
“As democrats, we are worried at the turn of events in the PDP since the umbrella party was dislodged from power at the centre in 2015,” the statement read. “It became evident that the only thing that united its members was the national cake. Once the 2015 elections were decided in favour of the then newly registered APC, the centre could no longer hold, and the party drifted toward imminent collapse.”
The Oyo APC also argued that the PDP’s current troubles are a form of “retribution,” recalling that some of its former leaders boasted that the party would rule Nigeria for at least 50 years. Sadare said what followed was a gradual erosion of influence as internal crises were allowed to grow unchecked, culminating in major fallout during the 2023 general elections.
The statement further criticised PDP elders for failing to manage the party’s internal challenges, alleging that this carelessness allowed Governor Makinde to “take over the affairs of their party” despite what it described as a lack of capacity and experience.
“Because he lacked the traits required to lead a national party, Gov. Makinde emerged the final nemesis that consumed the PDP,” the statement said, noting that he is now the only PDP governor in the entire southern region, with only a few remaining in the North.
The APC also defended President Tinubu, arguing that he and other opposition figures from the Obasanjo era “sacrificed a lot to keep the opposition movement alive” and cannot be blamed for the PDP’s current decline.
“As a matter of fact, Gov. Makinde cannot deliver the PDP from its comatose condition,” the statement concluded. “If virtually all his governor colleagues can leave the party for him, questions should be asked about his mission and vision for the PDP, while President Tinubu should be allowed to focus on his job as the president of the country.”
