APM unveils Ogbomoso-born Salawu as Oyo deputy governorship candidate

Muftau Salawu, an Ogbomoso-born politician and entrepreneur, has been unveiled as the Deputy Governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in Oyo State ahead of 2027 general elections.

The governorship standard-bearer of the party, Bimbo Adekanmbi, presented his running mate to the party leaders, party members, stakeholders and loyalists on Wednesday at the party’s Secretariat in Oke Ado, Ibadan.

The governorship candidate had earlier called for a minute of silence for the slain teacher and security personnel who lost their lives to the Oriire Local Government abduction, praying to God to grant government and security agencies success in safely rescuing the abductees.

According to Adekanmbi, he and Open Salawu were selected to complement each other in the task of sustaining the development of Oyo State as championed by Governor Seyi Makinde under Omitutun 1.0 and Omitutun 2.0 in the last seven years.

Lauding Governor Makinde for engineering a modern Oyo State with tremendous achievements in human capacity building and infrastructure development, Adekanmbi declared that his priority under Omitutun 3.0 would be the continuity of good governance.

He maintained that the Adekanmbi/ Salawu ticket would deliver impactful projects such as infrastructure development, prompt payment of workers’ salaries, improved healthcare delivery, quality education, security of lives and properties, tourism development and the delivery of other dividends of democracy.

The governorship candidate rallied members of the party and the teeming people of Oyo State to support the APM to emerge victorious at all levels in the 2027 general elections.

Adekanmbi said, “Governor Seyi Makinde has provided welfare for the citizens. He has also ensured security of lives and property, and it behoves on any serious administration to hand over to another capable government.

“That is the message of Omituntun 3.0, that we are a serious government, schooled and tutored by somebody who is a master in the art of governance, someone who has paid salaries regularly, provided infrastructure and security, and has also promoted agribusiness and tourism. In every area, he has scored excellently well.

“Now, he wants to hand over to a capable team. So, today we are unveiling the Deputy Governorship candidate, Muftau Open Salawu. He is a thoroughbred engineer, who served as the head of the state’s project monitoring team. All the projects that the residents of Oyo State are happy the government is providing through the governor, he has been monitoring them to ensure that they meet up with the standards.

“So, our team is a capable team that is loyal to the state. We have had Omituntun 1.0, accelerated development; we are experiencing Omituntun 2.0, sustainable development. Now, we are going to Omituntun 3.0, which will be about continued development.

“It is only sensible that people who have been schooled, who have a track record, who have done it in the private and public sector, take over the reins of Oyo State from Governor Makinde.

“So, this is a team that is ready for governance from day one, because we are people who have been schooled, who have managed businesses, managed public sector, so the people of the state know exactly what to expect.

“To the party members, we are selling value, competence and loyalty to Oyo State. We are promising security of lives and properties, the ability to go to work without fear. It is a coalition of the PDP and the Allied People’s Movement, APM.

“We have challenges ahead of us. These challenges can only be overcome by a sound team and that is what Bimbo and Open Salawu will represent. The combination is the best for Oyo State. It’s a natural combination that any right-thinking person that loves the state will tap into.”

Speaking after his presentation as the running mate to the Oyo State APM Governorship Candidate, Salawu urged party members to support them.

Stressing that the APM must win Oyo State to sustain the tempo of development and positive turnaround being experienced in the state as a result of the people-centred leadership of Governor Makinde, he called on members to bury the hatchets, forget their differences and unite in the interest of the State.