Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has defended his decision to contest the 2027 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu, arguing that the South-West can produce more than one candidate.
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Makinde spoke on Thursday at the APM Makinde/Daura Campaign Organisation’s South-West town hall meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital. Tinubu, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is also from the South-West.
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Responding to questions about why he was contesting when the region already had a president, Makinde cited the 1999 presidential election, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Olu Falae, both from the South-West, contested against each other.
He argued that the region had previously presented two candidates for Nigerians to choose from without any adverse consequences, adding that the same could happen in 2027.
Makinde urged residents of the South-West to reject what he described as the politics of deceit, saying his administration’s record in Oyo State demonstrated what he could offer the country.
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The governor also criticised Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, for travelling from New York to Abuja to present the UN budget to Tinubu.
Makinde questioned the need for the trip, arguing that public funds should not be spent on such a journey when there was uncertainty over which national budget the Federal Government was implementing.
He asked whether the country was operating under the 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 budget, questioning the decision to present the UN budget to the President amid the situation.
Comparing the situation with his administration’s performance in Oyo State, Makinde said budget implementation had improved from between 28 and 30 per cent when he assumed office to more than 70 per cent over the past seven years.
He added that the improvement had been sustained annually and that his administration had maintained a budget cycle running from January to December.
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