By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has described Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in Saturday’s Osun governorship election as a warning of an upset in the 2027 presidential election, saying Nigerians are ready for a change of leadership.

According to the party, what happened in Osun is a sign that voters can overturn even the most entrenched political machinery when they decide they have had enough.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Abubakar, the APM said the outcome had reinforced the political philosophy of its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, that no political establishment was unbeatable once the people made up their minds.

“The triumph of the people over the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s governorship election in President Tinubu’s home State, Osun, not only foretastes the defeat that awaits President Tinubu in 2027 but also firmly established Makinde’s people-driven position that every political establishment seems unbeatable until the people decide otherwise,” Abubakar said.

The party said the reaction of voters to APC leaders during the election was another indication of growing disenchantment with the ruling party, arguing that the development could make the 2027 campaign trail a difficult one for its leaders.

It also pointed to what it described as signs of disaffection within the APC itself, citing a recent rally in Oyo State where an APC governorship candidate repeatedly chanted ‘APM’.

“Moreover, the open chanting of ‘APM’ by APC candidates and leaders at APC meetings and rallies … should serve as a caution … that many of his party members are not truly with him,” the statement said.

The APM attributed the alleged shift in public sentiment to worsening insecurity and economic hardship, as well as what it described as the Federal Government’s ‘arrogance in failure’ and ‘totalitarian proclivities’.

“Nigerians can no longer continue to stomach the arrogance in failure, totalitarian proclivities, worsening insecurity and economic hardship that the Tinubu administration now represents. They yearn for new realities under an honest, transparent, humane and people-oriented leadership as now embodied in the APM and our Presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde,” the party said.

According to the party, Makinde’s growing appeal is tied to his record in Oyo State, where it said he had demonstrated the competence and practical leadership required to reposition Nigeria.

It cited the state’s economic growth under his administration and recalled that a president of another African country had visited Oyo State to draw lessons from his governance model.

The party, however, painted a sharply different picture of the APC-led Federal Government, accusing it of presiding over economic hardship, galloping inflation, unemployment, infrastructural decay, insecurity and declining national prestige.

The APM consequently warned the APC against contemplating any attempt to manipulate the 2027 presidential election, saying Nigerians would resist any effort to subvert their choice.

“Our party therefore cautions the APC to read the handwriting on the wall and perish any thoughts of rigging the 2027 presidential election as any attempt to subvert the Will of the people will be firmly resisted by Nigerians on the platform of the APM,” Abubakar said.

The party congratulated Nigerians on what it called the triumph of their will in Osun, saying the result had strengthened its resolve to lead the campaign to dislodge the APC from power in January 2027.