The Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) Campaign Council in Oyo State has faulted the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, describing it as lacking fresh ideas, originality and a clearly defined development vision.
The council alleged that the Oyo AHEAD manifesto, recently unveiled by Alli, contained largely recycled promises and policy proposals that were already being implemented by the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde.
In a statement released on Tuesday and signed by Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Co-Director (Media and Publicity) of the Oyo APM Campaign Council, the group said the manifesto failed to offer innovative solutions capable of distinguishing Alli’s ambition from the existing government.
It expressed surprise that despite the publicity surrounding the unveiling, the document did not present any major policy initiative that could be identified as a distinctive idea of the APC candidate.
The council cited Alli’s pledge to establish fully equipped primary healthcare centres across the state’s 351 wards, arguing that the proposal mirrored the one-primary-healthcare-centre-per-ward initiative being pursued by the Makinde administration.
It questioned the rationale behind presenting an existing government policy as a major campaign promise without explaining how the proposed approach would be different or more effective.
The group also described proposals on teacher recruitment, improved healthcare facilities, regular salary payments, pension reforms and economic development as familiar political commitments that lacked any groundbreaking innovation.
It argued that the APC candidate had yet to establish why Oyo residents should replace an administration already pursuing similar programmes with a government offering substantially the same promises.
The APM council maintained that a manifesto intended to persuade voters to change an incumbent government should go beyond identifying challenges and outlining conventional promises. Rather, it should demonstrate fresh thinking and provide clear, practical strategies for achieving better results.
It consequently challenged Alli to present distinctive ideas capable of transforming healthcare delivery, modernising the civil service, strengthening governance and introducing technology-driven reforms in public service delivery.
According to the statement, the Oyo AHEAD document focused more on expanding existing programmes through additional facilities, recruitment and increased government spending than introducing fundamental reforms that could change the state’s development direction.
“Development is not simply about doing more of the same things. It is about discovering better ways of doing them,” the council stated.
It further argued that the manifesto had failed to provide a convincing justification for a change of government, particularly when several of its major proposals were similar to programmes already being executed by the present administration.
The council insisted that anyone seeking to succeed Governor Makinde must demonstrate a clear departure from conventional political promises through innovative policies and a distinctive development agenda.
It concluded that the Oyo AHEAD manifesto was characterised by ambitious rhetoric but lacked the originality and transformative ideas expected of a candidate seeking to govern the state.
