Makinde, His Supporters Only Alliance Member, APM Has No Faction – Olopoeyan Replies Southwest APC

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State has clarified that Governor Seyi Makinde and his supporters are only aligned with the party for electoral purposes, insisting that the arrangement should not be mistaken for the governor’s control of the party.

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The party’s chieftain, Alhaji Adebisi Aremu Olopoeyan, made the clarification while reacting to the South-West leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which recently claimed that Makinde had lost control of his party amid political disagreements ahead of the 2027 elections.

Olopoeyan said the governor and his supporters remained members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who were using the APM platform for the political alliance, rather than participating in the affairs of the party as regular members.

According to him, the APC should distinguish between Makinde’s alliance arrangement and the APM as a political party, arguing that the governor should not be presented as the party’s leader.

“APC should not identify him as a party man. They are alliance members for election sake. Their campaign organisation is also not party-backed. If you want to talk about Makinde, tag him to the alliance, not our party,” Olopoeyan said.

He maintained that the APM had no faction, adding that those aligned with Makinde had not formally joined the party but were using its platform to participate in elections.

The clarification comes after the South-West APC accused Makinde of losing control of the PDP and questioned his capacity to lead a broader political coalition ahead of the 2027 elections. The party also described the governor as campaigning on a “borrowed ticket”.

Olopoeyan’s comments also come against the backdrop of the political disagreement involving Makinde and his camp over political alignments ahead of the next general election.

Recall that Olopoeyan had previously argued that Makinde’s actions during the 2023 presidential election established a precedent for party members to support candidates from other parties while retaining their membership.

Speaking during a visit by Chief Dotun Sanusi to his residence in Ibadan, Olopoeyan said he and his supporters would vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 while remaining members of the APM.