The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation has described Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential ambition under the banner of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, as dead on arrival, following commendation of President Bola Tinubu by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.

Governor Mohammed, who is the National Leader of the APM, had publicly acknowledged that President Tinubu has “done so well” in several areas, particularly finance, health and security.

Mohammed spoke on Monday when the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, paid him a courtesy visit in Bauchi.

“We don’t always oppose and criticise for the sake of criticising. When we see good things, we say it. The President has done so well in so many aspects, especially in the area of finance, because the states are getting more,” Mohammed said.

Reacting in a statement, Bisi Oladele, Director Media and Publicity for the Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation, SSACO, said the remark exposed the contradictions in Makinde’s presidential project.

“The question Nigerians should now ask is simple: if one of the principal promoters of Makinde’s presidential ambition truthfully admits that President Tinubu is doing well, what exactly is the justification for Makinde asking Nigerians to replace the President? The contradiction is glaring,” Oladele said.

“Governor Mohammed deserves commendation for having the courage to acknowledge the truth rather than engaging in opposition for opposition’s sake. His remarks merely confirm what millions of Nigerians can increasingly see: President Tinubu’s reforms are producing results, strengthening the fiscal position of states and enabling governments at the subnational level to undertake development projects.”

Oladele said Makinde’s campaign was collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions before the real contest has even begun.

Alli is the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in Oyo State, while Makinde, the current Oyo State Governor, is the presidential candidate of the APM with Lawal Daura as his running mate for the 2027 election.

Mohammed, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APM in May and is contesting the Bauchi South Senatorial seat on the party’s platform, had previously endorsed Makinde’s candidacy.

In a separate address, Mohammed also thanked Tinubu for security interventions in Bauchi, saying the President established two battalions in Alkaleri and Tafawa Balewa and deployed a high-powered military contingent under the National Security Adviser when bandits nearly overran parts of the state.

“I went to him, and he responded in spite of my being in the opposition,” Mohammed said.