Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Engineer Seyi Makinde, on Monday defended the use of diesel-powered generators to illuminate some streetlights in the state, saying the arrangement was necessitated by the country’s persistent electricity challenges.

Makinde, who spoke at the Boye Nation/JAF Movement Mega Concert at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, said critics of his administration should consider the wider power situation in the country before faulting the use of generators for street lighting.

The governor was responding to criticism from the Oyo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Sharafadeen Alli, over the deployment of diesel-powered generators for some streetlights.

Makinde challenged the critics to remember a promise he attributed to their political principal to resolve Nigeria’s electricity problem within his first four years in office.

He said, “Tell them their father and boss was the one who said if he doesn’t fix the light all over Nigeria within his first four years, no one should vote for him again.”

The governor argued that if the country’s electricity challenge had been resolved as allegedly promised, governments would not have needed to rely on diesel-powered generators to operate streetlights.

His remarks came against the backdrop of increasing political activities in Oyo State ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The concert, themed “Young, United, Unstoppable (YUU),” also witnessed the formal reception of Ibadan-based political organiser, Ajiboye Akande Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, and his supporters into the APM.

Sangogade, an ally of former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, led his supporters from the APC into the APM at the event.

Makinde also responded to comments about his professional background, saying his engineering qualification had been recognised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers, where he said he was a Fellow.

He also referred to the APM governorship candidate in Oyo State, Bimbo Adekambi, describing him as a graduate and professional who is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Using the legal profession as an analogy, the governor said lawyers who attain the highest professional recognition are addressed as Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), arguing that the absence of a designation such as “Junior Advocate of Nigeria” should not be used to diminish the professional standing of others.

Makinde subsequently urged Senator Alli to focus on the governorship contest with the APM candidate, Adekambi, rather than attacking his administration.

Speaking with journalists at the event, the APM candidate for Ibadan North-West/South-West Federal Constituency, Akin Fagbemi, expressed optimism that the party’s political influence would extend beyond Oyo State ahead of the 2027 elections.

Fagbemi said the turnout at the concert demonstrated what he described as growing acceptance of the APM, adding that the state had again shown its capacity for political mobilisation.

He said Makinde, as the party’s presidential candidate, would take the APM’s agenda to the national level in 2027.

Fagbemi said the party’s proposed “Reset Nigeria” agenda was aimed at addressing challenges confronting Nigerians, including unemployment, economic hardship and declining economic opportunities.