In response to criticism of his administration’s usage of diesel-powered generators for streetlights, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde used the occasion to reapply pressure on President Bola Tinubu regarding an electricity pledge made during the campaign.
Advertisements
Speaking on Monday at the Boye Nation/JAF Movement Mega Concert in Ibadan, where he also welcomed a wave of APC defectors into his Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Makinde claimed that Tinubu, the “father and boss” of the ruling party, had previously warned Nigerians not to re-elect him for a second term if he failed to address the nation’s electrical issues during his first four years in office.
Advertisements
“He said if electricity is not fixed, we should not vote for him for a second term,” Makinde said, adding that if the promise had been kept, states like Oyo wouldn’t need to spend money on diesel to keep streetlights running.
Senator Sharafadeen Alli, an APC candidate for governor of Oyo, made the comments after criticising the state government’s diesel-powered streetlight system as wasteful considering the amount of money Oyo spends on electricity. In response, Makinde shifted the blame upward, claiming that rather than state-level mismanagement, the state’s dependency on generators is a direct result of an unstable national grid.
Notably, Makinde’s own administration has relied on the structure Tinubu established. Shortly after entering office, the president signed the Electricity Act 2023 into law, allowing states to establish their own electricity markets and removing the federal monopoly on power generation and distribution.
.
Strict interpretations of Tinubu’s 2023 words have previously been challenged by the Presidency, with officials claiming that he also stated he could provide Nigerians with “adequate reasons” if the electricity objective wasn’t reached—a detail Makinde’s framing ignores. The exchange highlights how the unresolved power crisis remains a live weapon in the run-up to the 2027 election, regardless of whether Tinubu’s initial statement was as unconditional as Makinde suggests. Makinde, who has now declared himself a presidential contender, is using it as his opening line of attack.
Advertisements
