Makinde defends 2027 run against Tinubu, says South-West can field two candidates
- Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde told an APM town hall in Akure that the South-West can produce more than one presidential candidate.
- He cited 1999, when Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae both ran for president.
- Makinde said his 2027 bid is about competence and energy, not region or age.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has defended his decision to contest the 2027 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu, saying the South-West can present more than one candidate without harming the region's interests.
Makinde, who is the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), spoke on Thursday at the party's South-West town hall meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital. The event was held at the Ondo State International Conference Centre, The Dome.
Critics had asked why he was running when the South-West already holds the presidency. Makinde pointed to 1999, when the region produced former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae as presidential candidates.
"Heaven did not fall," he said, adding that the region simply offered Nigeria two of its best to choose from.
Not about region, he says
Makinde said his decision was not about where the President comes from but about competence, fairness and national unity.
He said he supported Tinubu in 2023 even though they were in different parties, because he believed the President would run a government of national unity and competence. Asked whether that had happened, he said the answer was no.
The governor said he would campaign on energy and stamina rather than age. He challenged other candidates to show their own physical fitness on the campaign trail.
He outlined four pillars of what he calls his Reset Nigeria agenda: education, the economy, security and sociopolitical empowerment.
On the economy, Makinde criticised the Federal Government's budgeting process, contrasting it with Oyo State's January-to-December cycle and what he said was more than 70 per cent budget performance over seven years. He also questioned the reported presentation of the United Nations budget to the President in Abuja by Nigeria's permanent representatives to the UN.
He urged supporters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and take the party's message to households.
The APM vice-presidential candidate, Alhaji Lawal Daura, warned members against what he called political infiltration aimed at dividing the party, and said the party remained united.
Former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, APM National Chairman Yusuf Dantalle and National Leader Bala Mohammed were among those at the event. Dantalle and Mohammed criticised the ruling party's economic policies, saying they had worsened hardship.
Those present included Oyo Deputy Governor Bayo Lawal, Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin, former Senator Monsurat Sunmonu and campaign coordinator Eddy Olafeso.
What happens next
The 2027 general election is still ahead, and Makinde's candidacy sets up a contest within the South-West. His call for voters to register and collect PVCs signals that the APM intends to build its campaign around grassroots mobilisation.
