The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has described plans by Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration to conduct another local government council election in December 2026 as illegal, ill-conceived, and self-serving. 

The APC, in a statement by its state publicity secretary, Olawale Sadare, on Thursday in Ibadan, said the decision would further worsen the current situation at the grassroots level in the state. 

The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) had announced January 2027 for the conduct of another local government poll in the state, but later adjusted the date to December 26, 2026.

The commission said this adjustment was due to a clash between the scheduled date and the date picked by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 general elections.

Mr Sadare said that political watchers from within and outside Oyo State had queried OYSIEC over the haste in conducting another election six months before the expiration of the tenures of the current chairmen and councillors in the 33 Local Government Areas and 351 wards across the state.

The Oyo APC said that it would not only boycott everything related to the planned poll but also join hands with other patriots and rational minds to prevent the governor from wasting taxpayers’ money on planting his stooges in the local government councils after his tenure.

 The APC said, “The whole world knows that the governor does not believe in local government autonomy, and when it comes to democracy at the grassroots, he cannot be trusted for anything.

“He has feasted on the resources of the 33 local government councils in the state for over seven years, and the people cannot wait for him to leave in May for the third tier of government to regain its freedom.

 “The same governor is now trying to impose another set of people who will be loyal to him even after leaving government house.

“And he knows he cannot do this after the conduct of the 2027 general elections, the outcome of which would strip him of all political power and influence.

 “The alleged fraud called the local government polls in 2020 and 2024 are the last that the good people of the state will witness.

“So, the governor and his men should bury the thought of staging another charade in which results would be announced without any election.

 “To this end, we urge those PDP/APM members who are being paraded as OYSIEC officials to halt every plan regarding the premature conduct of another local government council poll in December.

 “If they proceed, they should be ready for the consequences of allowing themselves to be used for the waste of public funds and the desecration of democracy in the state.”

(NAN)