The governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde, has said he will not back President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, citing concerns over the future of democracy in Nigeria.
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, Makinde was part of the G5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who declined to support Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy. The group, led by Nyesom Wike, now minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), argued that the PDP’s presidential ticket should not come from the same region as the party’s national chairman.
Despite Oyo being governed by the PDP, Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, won the presidential election in the state. However, relations between Makinde and Wike later deteriorated.
Speaking on Tuesday during a media interaction at the Government House in Ibadan, Makinde traced the fallout to a meeting involving Tinubu, Wike, and others, where Wike allegedly pledged to deliver the PDP to the president ahead of the 2027 election without consulting party stakeholders.
“I was in a meeting with the President and Wike and a few others, and Wike said to the President that I will hold PDP for you against 2027; I was in shock,” Makinde said.
“So, we got up, and I asked Wike, did we agree to this?”
Makinde said while Wike is entitled to support Tinubu’s re-election, other party members also have the right to protect the PDP and prevent what he described as a slide toward a one-party system.
“The real issue is that Wike would like to support the President in 2027, that’s fine; it’s within his right to do that,” he said.
“But also, some of us who want democracy to survive in Nigeria, we don’t want to drift into a one-party state, and we want to ensure that PDP survives; he should also allow us to do our own thing.”
The governor clarified that Tinubu did not request such a commitment from Wike.
“The President did not ask him; do this for me. He was the one who volunteered that I would do this,” Makinde added.
According to him, attempts to persuade Wike to reverse his stance were unsuccessful, prompting a firm response.
“After he didn’t back off, I told him from that day that I would never be part of this,” he said.
Makinde concluded that his decision not to support Tinubu in 2027 is based on his right to independent political choice.
“That is why I will never support the President for 2027. Wike can support him; it is within his right, but it is also within my right within the political space to determine who I will support or what I will do in 2027.”