The All Progressives Congress (APC) has thrown down the gauntlet at opposition political figures who converged on Ibadan at the weekend, dismissing their anti-Tinubu coalition as a exercise in futility that will yield no electoral dividend in the 2027 general elections.

The ruling party’s Oyo State chapter issued the broadside on Sunday through its Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Sadare, hours after a constellation of opposition heavyweights gathered in the state capital for what was billed as the ‘National Summit of Opposition Political Party Leaders’, hosted by Governor Seyi Makinde.

The high-profile gathering drew former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, former Anambra Governor Peter Obi, ex-Minister of Information Professor Jerry Gana, activist Aisha Yesufu, and political economist Professor Pat Utomi, among others. Former governors Rauf Aregbesola, Aminu Tambuwal, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdulfatai Ahmed, Rotimi Amechi, and Babangida Aliyu also attended, alongside former minister Solomon Dalung.

But the APC was unimpressed, likening President Bola Tinubu’s political lead over his challengers to that of a marathon frontrunner already kilometres ahead of the pack.

“They are just wasting their time as it is just impossible for them to catch up with a man who is several kilometres ahead of them in a marathon,” the party said in its statement.

The party also trained its guns specifically on Governor Makinde, warning that the 2027 polls would be free and credible, and that the governor would not escape accountability for what it described as mounting allegations of abuse of office and corruption before the end of his tenure on May 29, 2027.