The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) is embroiled in a messy crisis ahead of 2027 poll as party chairmen in the South-South geo-political zone boycotted the presidential town hall meeting and passed a vote of no confidence in the party’s candidate and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.

The six party chairmen in the region expressed their grievances in a statement titled, “South-South chairmen of APM/Governorship candidates/ National Assembly candidates boycott South-South presidential town hall meeting, pass a vote of no confidence on our presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde.”

The statement stated, “We, the State Chairmen of Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria have met to deliberate on the state of affairs within our great party and the relationship between the party’s leadership structures and its Presidential candidate, His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde and hereby issue this resolution in the interest of unity, internal democracy, accountability and organizational discipline.

“We acknowledge the importance of the 2027 general elections and the collective responsibility of Party leaders, elected representatives, candidates and members to work together towards achieving the objectives of the Allied Peoples Movement.

The statement was signed by the APM chairmen in Rivers State, Dagogo Whyte; Bayelsa State, Peace Oruama; Akwa Ibom State, Uduak Edet; Edo State, Ugiagbe Ogieriakhi; Delta State, Henry Eze and Cross River State; Ntami Nkanu Esege.

It added, “However, we express serious concern over what we consider to be the inadequate recognition, consultation and engagement of the established party hierarchy in matters relating to the organization, coordination and political direction of the party by Seyi Makinde.

“We have realised that our Presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde lacks substance, the political will and focus to lead us aright as a Presidential candidate. He came to the party with a promise of lies and has been wallowing in an ocean of dishonesty, political compromise and incompetence. If he cannot be honest to his party men, how can he be honest to Nigerians he aspires to lead?”

The chairmen said the Oyo State governor joined the APM as a political deadwood, having come from a faction of PDP that was dead.

They added that rather than work with established structures in the 36 states of the federation he met on the ground, the governor planted coordinators of his presidential campaign in the 36 states of the federation from outside the party.

They said, “All of whom are not card carrying members of our Party APM. It thus appears that Seyi Makinde came to our Party, only to make merchandise of us, whereas APM is not a trading company. We affirm that the APM is an institution governed by its constitution, established procedures and recognized leadership structures.

“The presidential candidate, irrespective of his political standing or personal achievements, must operate within the framework of the Party and maintain a constructive relationship with its national, zonal, state, local government and ward structures. The Party hierarchy must not be treated as an appendage to an individual political ambition. Rather, it must be recognized as an essential institution responsible for maintaining party identity, coordinating grassroots mobilisation and sustaining organizational discipline.”

The chairmen noted that in view of their concerns, they, in consultation with the governorship candidates of the zone, the National Assembly and state house of assembly candidates of the zone, passed a vote of no confidence in the manner in which Mr Makinde carried on his presidential campaign without recognising established leadership structures in the states.

They stated, “We wish to emphasize that our concerns arise from our commitment to the survival, unity and institutional integrity of the Allied Peoples Movement. We have invested our time, resources and political capital in building the party structures across the South-South zone and we will not allow political hoodlums to destabilise a party we all laboured to build.

“We therefore consider it necessary that our contributions and responsibilities receive appropriate recognition within the party’s decision-making process. We remain committed to constructive engagement and the protection of the party’s institutional interests while insisting that leadership must be accompanied by accountability, consultation and mutual respect.

“We, however have our utmost respect for the NWC of our Party led by our indefatigable National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, who also doubles as the National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC). We accordingly pass a vote of confidence on the NWC and our National Chairman and implore them to continue to work towards making our Party a formidable force in Nigeria, ahead of the 2027 elections.”

However, the chairmen said they passed a vote of confidence in the party’s National Leader and Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, for what they described as his exemplary and focused leadership.

They also promised to reconvene at the appropriate time to take a decision on the presidential election, adding that the Niger Delta was too wide to be cajoled by political jobbers.Recall that Mr Makinde on Tuesday held a South-South town hall meeting for his presidential campaign in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.