Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday said he has the capacity to occupy the highest political office in the land.
He also predicted that the 2027 elections would be between Nigerians and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC); and not a contest between his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC.
Makinde, who is now in his second term as governor, said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme: ‘I don’t have any doubt that I have the capacity to occupy the highest office in this land and I have what it takes but what I want to do right now, is it what Nigerians are asking for right now, is it what my party will say we should do, we don’t know; we still have a long time to go.
‘But where we are right now is that we must fix our party, we must have a platform for you to even aspire to be anything.
‘Let me also say this: if my political journey ends here, I am also happy’.
Fresh permutations and alliances have emerged in recent weeks ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Of late, PDP’s 2023 flag bearer. former Vice President Atiku Abubakar championed an inter-party alliance that birthed a coalition on 30 March.
The opposition arrowhead, alongside former Anambra State Governor, Governor Peter Obi; former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai; announced the coalition as a springboard to oust President Bola Tinubu of the APC whose administration has been accused of mismanaging the economy, with all-time high inflation and unprecedented cost of living.
The coalition is banking on the numerical strength of the votes recorded by Atiku and Obi in the last poll. In 2023, PDP’s Atiku and Labour Party’s Obi came second and third respectively with combined votes of over 12 million, more than four million above the total votes recorded by Tinubu who was declared the winner by electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a twist, Makinde and his PDP brother-governors, on Monday, rejected the coalition spearheaded by Atiku, ruling out any plan by the party for mergers or coalition.
During the television programme, Makinde said that individuals and party members have the right to associate with any coalition but the stand of the party is different. ‘Your house must be in order before you invite others’, he said.
A member of the PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Bode George had backed the party’s governors for rejecting the Atiku coalition. The PDP chieftain had said wants his party to win the next election with a southern candidate.
Asked whether he would run for the office of the president in 2027, Makinde, a southerner in the main opposition party, said: ‘Nobody will set an agenda for me. I will set an agenda for myself.
‘People can say whatever they want to say (but) right now, I am focusing on what Oyo State people have given to me; the task ahead of us.
‘So, I am not distracted. I will not play stunt politics; I will not do things because it feels right in some people’s ears. No, I will stay focused to ensure that we bring dividends of democracy to our people, look after them and also build infrastructure that will lead our people well into the future. That is not consistent with whether somebody is going to go to the federal level or whether people are saying I must contest. If I want to contest, I will come out at the appropriate time.
‘One thing you should expect from Seyi Makinde is that he would never come out to say I want to do XYZ without preparations and without being held accountable for whatever he says he wants to do’.
