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The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Abimbola “Bimbo” Adekanmbi, has rejected suggestions that he is merely a political surrogate of Governor Seyi Makinde, insisting that he has his own manifesto, strategy and political identity ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Adekanmbi, a former Oyo State Commissioner for Finance, made the declaration during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. He said that if elected, he would take responsibility for his own decisions rather than govern under the political shadow of the outgoing governor.
“I’m no surrogate to Governor Makinde,” Adekanmbi said, adding that Makinde had specifically advised him not to inherit his political enemies or liabilities. Adekanmbi separately stated that he has “no godfather apart from the people of Oyo State.”
The denial is politically significant because Adekanmbi’s emergence as the APM candidate has been closely associated with Makinde’s political structure.
In May, the APM adopted Adekanmbi as its consensus governorship candidate. At the primary, the Oyo APM chairman openly described the arrangement as a partnership between the APM and PDP, while prominent members of Makinde’s administration attended the event. Adekanmbi also thanked Makinde for his support and promised that his government would build on the governor’s Omituntun development agenda.
This history explains why questions about his political independence have persisted.
Adekanmbi, however, argues that the process that produced him was broader than Makinde. He said consultations and public engagements involving different sectors and regions of Oyo State preceded the emergence of APM candidates for governor, Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly.
Interestingly, Makinde himself has publicly told Adekanmbi to develop an independent political identity.
During Adekanmbi’s unveiling in May, the governor urged him not to inherit his political enemies and to “chart his own course,” acknowledging that his own administration had made mistakes that a successor should be willing to correct.
The controversy therefore creates an important distinction ahead of 2027: continuity does not necessarily mean political subservience.
Adekanmbi can campaign on continuing programmes he considers successful under Makinde while simultaneously arguing that he would exercise independent authority as governor. But convincing voters of that independence may become one of the central tests of his campaign, given the visible relationship between his candidacy and Makinde’s political establishment.
The question for Oyo voters is likely to become increasingly important as the election approaches: Is Bimbo Adekanmbi genuinely building an independent governorship project — or is the APM ticket a vehicle for extending Seyi Makinde’s political influence beyond 2027?
