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By Oluseye Ojo
The 2027 Oyo State governorship race has taken a combative turn, with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) candidate, Bimbo Adekambi, challenging his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, to explain how he would guarantee local government autonomy, while Alli’s campaign organisation has threatened legal action over corruption allegations.
Adekanmbi, a former commissioner for finance under the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, offered to become Alli’s campaign manager if the senator could convincingly demonstrate how he would deliver autonomy.
The exchange followed Adekanmbi’s appearance on Fresh FM’s Political Circuit programme in Ibadan yesterday, where he questioned the practical implications of Alli’s promise to grant local governments and local council development areas autonomy from May 29, 2027, if elected governor.
Adekanmbi argued that autonomy must be backed by an effective legal and administrative framework, financial accountability and safeguards for workers’ salaries and pensions.
“If he can also tell the people of Oyo State, with evidence and records beyond reasonable doubt, how he will guarantee local government autonomy, I am ready to step down and be his campaign manager,” he said.
He also challenged Alli to explain the legislative steps he had taken during his over three years in the Senate to strengthen local government administration.
“This my egbon has spent three years in the Senate. Instead of him proposing laws that will help the local government, he is busy erecting billboards,” he said.
Adekanmbi further argued that greater financial independence for councils must come with safeguards against mismanagement and diversion of allocations. He cited allegations of financial impropriety involving local government officials, including claims that public funds had been transferred into cryptocurrency accounts.
He also alleged that a report existed concerning Alli’s management of council funds when he chaired Ibadan North Local Government.
However, the Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) dismissed Adekanmbi’s allegation of corruption as falsehoods intended to tarnish the senator’s reputation and challenged the APM candidate to produce the report he cited or face a defamation suit.
In a statement issued on Saturday, SSACO’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, defended Alli’s record as chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, saying he ensured prompt salary payments and prioritised workers’ welfare.
The organisation said Alli’s commitment to workers earned him recognition from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Oyo State.
It attributed financial difficulties experienced by local governments during the period to a nationwide funding shortfall following a January 1993 Federal Military Government policy on staff promotions and salary increases.
According to SSACO, the difficulties persisted beyond Alli’s tenure and were subsequently addressed through institutional measures, including the establishment of the National Primary Education Commission in 1997 and the introduction of first-line charges for teachers’ salaries by 1999.
The organisation also accused Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration of weakening local government administration in the state.
It said Alli, if elected, would strengthen the administrative and financial capacity of the state’s 33 local government areas, improve grassroots governance and reconstruct feeder roads to stimulate economic activities.
Adekanmbi also promised to increase Oyo State’s internally generated revenue (IGR) without raising tax rates. He proposed measures to plug revenue leakages, digitise collections, harmonise tax administration and encourage voluntary compliance.
He also pledged to improve small businesses’ financial record-keeping and access to accounting services.
Dismissing suggestions that he would become a political stooge to Makinde if elected, Adekanmbi said his loyalty would be to the people of Oyo State. He added that the over 7.9 million people of Oyo State would be his godfathers.
He promised to prioritise workers’ welfare, infrastructure, healthcare, education, electricity and youth development. He also pledged to improve operations at Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in Ibadan and work with the Federal Government to revive Ikere Gorge Dam.
Adekanmbi said his manifesto would contain measurable targets for his first 100 days in office and subsequent periods, with regular assessments of government programmes.
