Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has underscored that the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has the backing of most of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) political structure as he prepares to challenge for the presidency in 2027.
Speaking during an Exclusive Interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday. Makinde, the APM presidential candidate, said the party’s strength comes partly from the political structure that supported his emergence as Oyo governor under the PDP, despite the internal problems that affected the opposition party.
“Remember, I became governor under PDP. Remember, we had issues within PDP. But majority of the PDP structure, they’re actually with us in APM.”
He confirmed that APM is a faction of the PDP when the interviewer asked whether his party was relying on the PDP structure.
“Yes, it’s a faction of the PDP,
He described APM as a relatively new party but argued that its age would not prevent it from making a strong showing in the 2027 presidential election.
“APM is relatively new.”
Makinde also cited the performance of the Labour Party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election to support his argument that a party with a limited electoral history could attract significant votes.
“Labour Party in 2019, throughout the country, had 6,000 votes. 6,000 and some. In 2023, Peter will be moved into Labour Party. No governor, no senator, no big politician. And he was able to move Labour Party’s vote from 6,000 four years earlier to 6 million plus in 2023.”
He also pointed to the NNPP’s performance after former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso joined the party. “Four years earlier, they were right around 6,000 plus also nationally. And former governor Rabi Omosakwa Kwanso moved into NNPP. And the share of votes went from 6,000 to 1.4 million votes.”
Challenging the comparison while pointing out that Obi had been a vice-presidential candidate in 2019, and Kwankwaso had previously contested the presidency. Makinde maintained that his own political journey showed that a candidate did not necessarily need a long record in public office to build electoral support.
“If you read my trajectory to becoming the governor of all your states, this is my very first job in the public sector.”
The governor also defended his decision to seek the presidency. “The country needed a fundamental change in the way it was governed rather than gradual policy adjustments.”
He criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over electricity. “The president promised that, look, I will fix electricity. Nigerians believed him. Has electricity been fixed?”
Makinde said he believed the country was underachieving and that small reforms would not address its problems. “They don’t seem to be working. We’re underachieving. As a matter of fact, we have to completely change the game.”
He also rejected arguments that improvements in the economy at the macro level would eventually benefit ordinary Nigerians, saying the government should be judged by the effect of its policies on households. “If you’re saying, oh, things are happening at the macro level, but it will filter down to micro, I see those as just excuses and shifting blimps.”
Makinde questioned whether Nigerians were experiencing relief from the rising cost of living and whether families could afford basic needs.
“What’s the impact on the ordinary people on the streets? Are Nigerians hungry? Are more families able to, you know, afford certain things?”
He further defended his record on workers’ welfare, saying his administration had increased the minimum wage in Oyo State from N18,000 to N80,000. “Since I came in, I met a minimum wage at 18,000 Naira and we moved it to 30,000. All within seven plus years.”
Makinde added that the state increased the minimum wage again after the Tinubu administration began in 2023. “And we moved, again, the minimum wage to 70, 75, 80,000 Naira.”
The governor also said his administration had not failed to pay workers’ salaries during his more than seven years in office. “We have never had salaries for one month out of the seven plus years that I’ve spent here in Oyo State. All through the President Buhari period in office, we paid salaries.”
Asked whether Oyo State had ever owed workers’ salaries under his watch, Makinde replied: “No, never. Not under my watch.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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