OJU-INU YOUTH MOVEMENT MOBILISES 400 DEFECTORS FROM APC, ADC TO APM IN IDO, DECLARES SUPPORT FOR MAKINDE'S 2027 PRESIDENTIAL AMBITION -

IBADAN- The Oju-Inu Youth Movement, under the leadership of Tomiwa Ali, has facilitated the defection of 400 people, including youths and people of Igede extraction, from the All Progressives Congress, APC, and African Democratic Congress, ADC, to the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The political gathering, which took place at Adifase High School, Apata, Ibadan, was the culmination of underground mobilisation and engagement with prospective defectors by the Oju-Inu Youth Movement. The movement conceived and initiated the exercise and invited APM chieftains and other political stakeholders to formally receive the new members. The event featured songs, drums, dancing and enthusiastic chants of the APM campaign song.

Addressing the gathering, the leader of the movement, Tomiwa Ali, declared that there was no Rainbow Coalition in Oju-Inu, insisting that Governor Seyi Makinde remained their preferred leader and deserved the collective support of the people. He called on members to rise in support of the governor, describing him as their own son from Oyo State who should be supported to become Nigeria’s next president. Tomiwa expressed confidence that Governor Makinde would unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election by a wide margin. He also assured that the movement would replicate the mobilisation exercise across other local government areas of Oyo State, expressing confidence in APM’s victory from top to bottom in the forthcoming elections. He further maintained that the movement had been working underground before the public reception and described those who resigned from Governor Makinde’s cabinet as thieves and empty vessels, insisting that their departure would not diminish the governor’s political standing.

The Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Security, Honourable Fagbenro Bibire, commended the mobilisation and urged the defectors to embrace APM as their political home. He challenged them to extend the mobilisation to other communities, obtain their Permanent Voter Cards, win their polling units and ensure their votes were monitored to the collation centre during elections.

Also speaking, Honourable Kazeem Bolarinwa, Youth Coordinator of Governor Seyi Makinde’s Presidential Campaign Council, praised the governor’s administration, claiming that its achievements surpassed those of former governors Lam Adesina and the late Abiola Ajimobi. He also expressed confidence in Makinde’s presidential ambition.

The Chairman of APM in Ido Local Government, Alhaji Emiola Musbau, welcomed the defectors and assured them of equal rights and opportunities within the party. He described the recent departure of some APM members as a blessing in disguise and questioned the development contributions of the APC governorship candidate, Barrister Sharafadeen Ali, alleging that despite the various public offices he had occupied since the administration of former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, his contributions to Oyo State and Ibadan were limited to billboards.

Among those who led the defectors was Honourable Pastor Eri, who joined other new members in formally identifying with APM.

Honourable Akeem Ademola Ige (Ige Again), who currently serves as Chairman of the Oyo State Local Government Staff Pension Board (LGSPB), also addressed the gathering, urging old and new members to work together towards securing victory for APM. He further led the symbolic burning of the former party-branded materials surrendered by the defectors, including APC brooms and other party items. The exercise represented their formal rejection of their former political affiliations and their identification with APM. The new members were also encouraged to support Bimbo Adekanmbi as the APM governorship candidate in Oyo State.

The ceremony featured a symbolic renunciation of the defectors’ former political affiliations as they surrendered their APC and ADC-branded caps and other party materials. The former APC members also surrendered their brooms, the party’s symbol, which were set ablaze at the venue. Following the ceremony, the defectors, alongside members of the Oju-Inu Youth Movement and other party leaders, embarked on a solidarity walk through Apata and neighbouring communities, canvassing support for APM from top to bottom.

Dignitaries at the event included Honourable Akeem Ademola Ige, Chairman of the Oyo State Local Government Staff Pension Board; Honourable Fagbenro Bibire; Honourable Kazeem Bolarinwa; Alhaji Akinsola Ayuba, APM State Auditor; Alhaji Emiola Musbau, APM Chairman in Ido; Alhaji Fatai Adedokun, APM Leader in Ido; Oloye Yinka Kareem, APM Vice Chairman in Ido; Honourable Adeyanju Mustapha; Engineer Kolawole Sheun Adedeji, Director-General of the Campaign Council; Pastor Samuel Akintokun, APM Leader in Ido; and Kamilu Rasheed, APM Chairman, Ward 9, Ido.

The mobilisation, initiated and executed by the Oju-Inu Youth Movement under Tomiwa Ali, marks an expansion of the group’s grassroots political activities beyond its immediate base, with the leader pledging to replicate the exercise across other local government areas of Oyo State.