Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Seyi Makinde, has said Nigeria can be reset within four years if he is elected president in the 2027 general election.
Makinde stated this on Monday at the APM North-Central Town Hall Meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The governor had earlier announced on X that he was in Lafia for the town hall meeting after holding a closed-door meeting with APM candidates in the North-Central zone.
“We will work together to reset Nigeria so that it works for all Nigerians,” he said.
Speaking at the meeting, Makinde said his proposed administration would introduce a new security architecture, reform the education sector and rebuild the economy using data, science and logic.
He said the proposed reset would also cover Nigeria’s socio-political environment and could be achieved within four years.
“The reset agenda can be concluded in four years. We had someone who was head of state in this country for 10 months, and he was able to end military rule and usher in the democracy we now enjoy in Nigeria.
“We can reset and give Nigeria a new security architecture, a new path for education, our economy utilising data, science and logic, and our socio-political environment in four years,” he said.
Makinde said that, if elected, his administration would commence on 29 May 2027 with a transitional government of national unity aimed at paving the way for new political actors and an agenda focused on sustainable development.
“So, as your president from 29 May, 2027, we will run a transitional government of national unity that will culminate in new players and an agenda for Nigeria’s sustainable development,” he said.
The APM candidate also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity, particularly in the North-Central region.
He questioned the planning and funding behind the establishment of additional army divisions, saying he could not find specific provisions for the initiative in the 2026 budget.
“Midway into 2026, insecurity is a big issue, especially in the North-Central zone. They set up army divisions, and I was looking at the 2026 budget. For the item relating to the setting up of those army divisions, I did not see it.
“If they have it in the budget they prepared for 2026, they should bring it up,” he said.
Makinde argued that tackling insecurity required proper planning and adequate budgetary provisions.
He also questioned whether increased allocations to state governments from the Federation Account had translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians.
“Yes, they claim the state government has more money from the federation account. I’m not arguing that we have more money, but has it translated to fighting hunger in our society? The answer is no,” he said.
Speaking about Oyo State’s finances, Makinde said the state had reduced its dependence on federal allocations after he assumed office in 2019.
He said the state’s dependence on federal allocation had fallen from more than 80 per cent in 2019 to about 65 per cent in 2022, before rising again following the Federal Government’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy.
“When I came in as Oyo State governor in 2019, the state’s dependence on federal allocation was 80+ per cent; we worked really hard to bring it down to about 65 per cent in 2022, then came the statement ‘subsidy is gone’… the resultant is that today, Oyo State is back to almost 80 per cent dependent on federal allocation.
“That is their voodoo economics,” he said.
