Makinde warns APC against weakening opposition, unveils 'Reset Agenda'
- Oyo governor and APM presidential candidate Seyi Makinde accused the APC of stifling opposition parties.
- He spoke at APM town hall meetings in Uyo and Akure, warning there is no democracy in a one-party system.
- Makinde also said government should tax prosperity, not poverty, as part of his Reset Agenda.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who is the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of working to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
Makinde made the claim at two APM town hall meetings: one in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday, and another in Akure, Ondo State, on Thursday.
He said Nigeria's founding leaders fought for federalism and a multi-party system, and questioned why a ruling party with 31 governors would still fear the opposition.
"Stop using the backdoor to cause crisis for the opposition parties, there is no democracy if it is a one-party system," he said in Akure.
He held up Oyo State as an example, saying the political space there is open to both opposition and ruling party members, and asked the Federal Government to do the same.
Tax prosperity, not poverty
Makinde used the meetings to outline his "Reset Agenda", which he said rests on education, economic growth, security and federalism.
He argued that once the economy becomes productive, federal allocation should no longer be the main income for governments. He said he had made the same point at a National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, urging leaders to let people become productive and prosperous first.
"When they are prosperous, tax prosperity, don't tax poverty," he said.
In Uyo, he also criticised federal policies, saying projects such as the compressed natural gas (CNG) initiative and the naira-for-crude arrangement had not brought down transport costs for ordinary Nigerians.
He said the South South is rich in oil but its people remain poor, and promised the APM would focus on skills and knowledge acquisition.
Makinde claimed the zone did not vote for the APC in 2023 and would back the APM next time. The APC has not responded to his claims in the reports reviewed.
What happens next
The 2027 general election is still ahead, and Makinde's town halls signal the APM's push to build support in the South South and South West. Whether the party can convert the meetings into votes will depend on how the campaign unfolds.
