The All Progressives Congress has berated Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for boasting to defeat President Bola Tinubu in 12 states in the 2027 presidential election.

Mr Makinde’s campaign organisation on Saturday boasted that the governor, contesting on the platform of the Allied Peoples’ Movement, would defeat Mr Tinubu in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory in 2027.

However, in a statement on Sunday, Lagos State APC spokesman, Seye Oladejo, described the pronouncement as grandiose and wishful thinking.

“While political ambition is a legitimate feature of democracy, there is a wide gulf between ambition and capacity, between wishful thinking and electoral reality, and between making bold pronouncements and possessing the political machinery to deliver on them,” the party stated.

The APC further described Mr Makinde as a self-appointed champion confusing the opportunity to contest with the capacity to prevail.

The ruling party noted that the 2027 presidential election was not a theatrical performance in which political actors were rewarded for the loudest declarations, nor a numerical exercise in which the mere presence of candidates on the ballot paper translated into electoral relevance. 

According to the APC, the election is a serious contest that demands national reach, organisational depth, credible political structures, persuasive leadership, a compelling record of service and the capacity to mobilise voters across the federation.

“On these fundamental indices, Makinde’s boast about defeating President Tinubu in 12 states raises more questions about the foundations of his confidence than it offers evidence of his electoral strength. Where is the demonstrable national structure? What is the depth of his support beyond his immediate political environment? What coalition of enduring value has he assembled to translate his pronouncements into votes? And what credible evidence supports the suggestion that his political platform possesses the reach to dislodge a sitting President with an established national political network?,” the APC stated.

Mocking Mr Makinde over what it described as the catalogue of political crises and persistent fallouts within his own political family in Oyo State, the APC noted that Mr Makinde’s daily unravelling of relationships with erstwhile allies and soulmates ought to inspire sober reflection rather than reckless declarations of national electoral conquest. 

It added, “A politician who has yet to convincingly demonstrate enduring cohesion within his immediate political environment should be cautious about presenting himself as the architect of a nationwide electoral upset.

“Political alliances are built on trust, shared interests, strategic discipline and a common vision. When former partners become adversaries and yesterday’s allies increasingly find themselves on opposite sides of political disputes, the resulting instability raises legitimate questions about leadership, political management and the durability of any wider coalition.”

The ruling party urged Mr Makinde to devote more attention to consolidating his political base, resolving internal contradictions and addressing the growing strains within his political camp, rather than “projecting an aura of invincibility that the available political realities have yet to substantiate.”

The party added, “Makinde’s declaration, therefore, sounds less like a carefully reasoned electoral forecast and more like an attempt to manufacture momentum through headline-grabbing bravado. It is political confidence without sufficiently demonstrated evidence, ambition without a convincing national pathway, and projection without the organisational depth required to make it credible.”