The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has described Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi’s criticism of Senator Sharafadeen Alli’s manifesto as an expression of frustration over a superior plan designed to address the pains inflicted on the people of Oyo State by his principal’s administration through stifled grassroots development, failing health policies and weak economic growth.
In a statement on Wednesday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, SSACO said Adekanmbi, the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), was desperate to defend Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration despite its obvious shortcomings.
According to the statement, Adekanmbi and his principal are unsettled by Oyo AHEAD, Senator Alli’s development blueprint, which offers a grassroots development strategy to address failures in health, education, agriculture and youth development in the last seven years.
“It is understandable that a government that paralysed the local government system and wobbled in healthcare delivery, education, agriculture and youth development will naturally be pained that Senator Sharafadeen Alli is launching a plan to salvage the state where it has failed woefully. Today, Oyo State has the highest number of out-of-school children in the Southwest; many hospitals have no single doctor, while no single farm settlement or estate, as packaged for the people of Oyo State, is functional despite multi-billion naira appropriations for health, education and agriculture. For seven years, Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration has had no credible scorecard in youth development.
“For a man campaigning to continue this woeful trajectory, we fully understand that Mr. Adekanmbi will be grievously pained by the unveiling of a superior plan for the good people of Oyo State.
“Is it not intellectually disingenuous to describe policies as not original simply because previous governments had announced similar initiatives? When did healthcare, education, employment, workers’ welfare and economic development cease being priorities?
“What is more painful for Adekanmbi is that Senator Alli’s manifesto addresses specific areas of concern to the people of Oyo State, and it came from a man the people trust. Senator Alli is home-grown; he lives among the people and has built a good reputation over the years. He is unlike people who just surface from nowhere with bogus ideas but lack the credibility and acceptability for the promises being made. Senator Alli led the people of Ibadan North Local Government and offered quality leadership. They know him, and he knows them. He served as Secretary to the State Government and Chief of Staff to former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, positions that made him a key member of policy formulation and implementation.
“As the Senator currently representing Oyo South Senatorial District, he has been delivering on his promises. They know him well across the district, and he knows them. So, when he promises, they trust his words. This reality is a source of pain for Adekanmbi and his principal.
“For emphasis, Senator Alli’s manifesto is a surgery for the illness inflicted on the people of Oyo State. It highlights the challenges, offers practical solutions and sets measurable targets,” the statement read in part.
SSACO challenged Adekanmbi to explain why the existence of poorly staffed primary healthcare centres should prevent a future government from establishing better-equipped, adequately staffed and properly funded facilities across communities and local governments.
“If the current administration has announced the policies and is delivering on them, why is Oyo State ranked 27th in WAEC performance? Why are hospitals not well staffed and funded to deliver effective healthcare? Why are our local governments unable to address needs of communities in their domains? Oyo AHEAD has solutions to all these. And that is why Adekanmbi is pained.
“Alli’s experience in public administration, legislative service and community leadership positions him to offer purposeful leadership, institutional effectiveness and people-oriented development across Oyo State,” SSACO added.
The organisation urged voters to stand with Senator Alli, whom they know as one of them and a leader they can trust.
