Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, have traded accusations over their professional records and the performance of some government projects ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The latest exchange began after Makinde questioned Alli’s experience as a practising lawyer, prompting the senator’s campaign organisation to challenge the governor’s record as an electrical engineer, particularly over the state’s streetlight project and the renovation of the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan.
Makinde, who is the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, made the remark on Friday while defending his administration’s record and the professional qualifications of members of his cabinet.
The governor said, “I am an engineer, a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers,” while highlighting the professional backgrounds of other members of his administration.
He added, “If you like, go and vote for someone who claimed to be a lawyer but has never entered a courtroom. Let him mention any case he has handled.”
Makinde further described governance as a serious responsibility involving the destinies of millions of residents and challenged his political opponents to point to their achievements.
Reacting on Saturday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation, Bisi Oladele, challenged Makinde’s criticism of Alli’s legal career and instead questioned the governor’s performance as an engineer.
The campaign organisation alleged that the state’s streetlights, which it said had attracted hundreds of billions of naira in public expenditure, were being powered by diesel generators.
“It is a tragic irony that Governor Makinde, who studied electrical engineering, cannot devise a sustainable electricity solution for the streetlights installed with about N400 billion of state funds by his government,” Oladele said.
He alleged that the use of generators was costly and environmentally harmful, while also questioning the removal of solar infrastructure and electricity poles installed by the previous administration.
The campaign further alleged that some components of the streetlight project had become dysfunctional and that load-shedding had affected some of the installations.
The figures and allegations made by the campaign organisation could not independently be verified by PLATFORM TIMES.
The governor’s media aide, however, subsequently defended the use of generators, saying the state government resorted to them because of unreliable electricity supply from the national grid. The aide also challenged Alli, whose APC is the ruling party at the federal level, to direct his concerns about electricity supply to the Federal Government.
The Alli campaign organisation also criticised the renovation of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
Oladele alleged that despite the expenditure on the facility, it failed to meet the requirements for hosting a continental fixture involving Shooting Stars Sports Club.
“After committing over N5 billion to the stadium renovation project, followed by great fanfare in 2021, the facility could not satisfy the requirements for the very international matches expected of a major sporting arena,” he said.
He questioned the certification of the renovation and why Shooting Stars had to seek an alternative venue in Abeokuta, Ogun State, for a continental fixture.
The issue has also been reported in connection with Shooting Stars’ 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup campaign, with the club playing a home fixture in Abeokuta after the Ibadan venue was not available for the match.
But the Makinde administration has defended the stadium project, arguing that the facility has hosted major football activities and that work is continuing to address requirements for international-standard use.
Beyond the infrastructure dispute, the APC candidate’s campaign organisation also rejected Makinde’s assertion that Alli had never practised law.
Reports from Oyo-based media quoted the campaign as saying Alli began his legal career during his National Youth Service Corps programme in 1987 at A. E. Enumah & Associates in Nnewi, Anambra State.
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