It is increasingly unfortunate that some individuals parading themselves as members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have chosen to attack the party’s duly recognised governorship candidate simply because their preferred aspirant did not emerge from the party’s primary.
The latest statement by the so-called Oyo Progressive Mobilisation Group is a clear demonstration of how personal disappointment can be disguised as concern for the party. Rather than mobilising support for the APC ahead of the 2027 election, the group has chosen to amplify a manipulated video designed to malign Senator (Dr) Sharafadeen Alli.
For the avoidance of doubt, Senator Alli did not commit the verbal error being alleged. The video circulating on social media was doctored and deliberately presented in a manner intended to create the false impression that the APC governorship candidate was chanting in support of another political party.
It is therefore mischievous for anyone claiming to be a loyal APC member to take a manipulated video, give it a false interpretation and then use it as a basis to question the loyalty of the very candidate the party has entrusted with the responsibility of leading it into the 2027 governorship election.
The desperation is even more glaring because the authors have attempted to transform an artificially created controversy into an argument about Senator Alli’s political ideology. This is nothing but a political distraction designed to damage the image of a candidate who emerged through the party’s established process.
The APC cannot afford a situation where those who lost the opportunity to produce the party’s candidate now attempt to destroy the credibility of the candidate who emerged. Political contests within a party have rules, and once a candidate emerges, genuine party members are expected to close ranks and work for victory.
It is also intellectually dishonest to suggest that Senator Alli’s previous political affiliations make him incapable of embracing progressive ideals. Nigerian politics has witnessed movements across different political platforms, but what matters is where a politician stands today and the ideals he represents.
Senator Alli is today an APC leader and the party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State. He did not declare himself candidate. He emerged through the party’s internal democratic process and has subsequently been recognised within the party structure. That political reality cannot be erased by social-media propaganda.
If the authors of the statement genuinely care about the APC, their responsibility should be to protect the party’s candidate from falsehood, not to provide ammunition for opponents by circulating or endorsing manipulated content.
There is nothing progressive about deliberately maligning one’s own party’s candidate. There is nothing progressive about attempting to create division within a political party because one’s preferred aspirant did not win. And there is certainly nothing progressive about using doctored material to manufacture an offence where none exists.
The APC needs unity, discipline and collective responsibility as it prepares for the 2027 election. Those who genuinely supported other aspirants during the primary must now demonstrate maturity by accepting the outcome and working with the candidate produced by the party.
Senator Alli has consistently demonstrated commitment to the APC and has accepted the responsibility of leading the party into the next governorship election. His supporters should not be distracted by politically motivated propaganda designed to create division within the party.
The real issue before APC members is not a doctored video or a manufactured controversy. The real issue is how the party can unite, strengthen its structures and present a credible alternative to the people of Oyo State in 2027.
Those who truly believe in progressivism should therefore stop fighting yesterday’s battle and join hands with Senator Sharafadeen Alli to build a stronger APC capable of winning the 2027 election.
The APC has chosen its candidate. The primary is over. The time for sabotage is over. The time for unity and victory is now.
