Makinde pledges skills training for one million youths in 2027 bid
- APM presidential candidate Seyi Makinde says he will train one million young Nigerians in employable skills if elected in 2027.
- He unveiled a four-part plan in Enugu and said his full manifesto will be released on November 4, 2026.
- Makinde also promised cheaper long-term loans for manufacturers and urged supporters to protect their voter cards.
Seyi Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), has promised to put one million young Nigerians through skills training that could get them into jobs quickly, if he wins the 2027 election.
Makinde, who is also the governor of Oyo State, made the pledge on Thursday at an APM town hall meeting in Enugu, after consultations in the North-East, North-West, North-Central, South-South and South-West.
He said the training would run through a partnership with an organisation he called Skill Reset Nigeria, and asked young people to sign up online. His running mate is Lawal Musa Daura.
What the plan covers
Makinde said his "Reset Nigeria" agenda rests on four areas: the economy, security, education and the way politics and society are run.
He argued that a large share of Nigeria's problems would ease if leaders simply told the truth. "To deal with those challenges, 30 per cent of it will go away just by being sincere," he said, pointing to his record in Oyo as proof that trust can be rebuilt.
On the economy, he said Nigeria must stop depending on sharing federal allocations and focus on producing more. He named high interest rates and the shortage of long-term loans as the biggest obstacles for manufacturers, citing Nnewi and Onitsha as trading and manufacturing hubs that need support.
"You cannot expand manufacturing where millions are employed at 25 per cent interest rates and no long-term facility," he said, promising to tackle both.
He also asked why the Federal Government keeps borrowing when it reports rising foreign reserves and better tax collection, and called for clearer public explanations of the country's finances.
Makinde told the crowd that hunger and insecurity do not respect religion or ethnicity, and urged Nigerians not to let ethnic or religious differences decide their votes. He acknowledged that the South-East is widely seen as Peter Obi's stronghold but said he came to present his ideas anyway.
He also alleged that opposition parties had faced attempts to undermine their activities through the destruction of campaign posters and billboards and disruptions at political events, without saying who was responsible. He urged supporters to hold on to their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). "They cannot pull your thumb from you," he said.
APM national chairman Yusuf Mamman Dantalle said fuel now sells for almost ₦1,400 a litre, against ₦185 before President Bola Tinubu took office, and argued that the hardship calls for a change of leadership. He asked Tinubu to step aside in 2027 and back Makinde, and appealed to women to support the party.
Makinde said his full manifesto will be made public on November 4, 2026. The presidential election is scheduled for January 16, 2027.
What happens next
Nigerians will see the details of the APM plan when the manifesto is released next week. Whether the youth training promise becomes more than an announcement will depend on how the programme is funded and run before the vote.
