Makinde: Tinubu May Be Unhappy With Me Over 2027 Presidential Ambition

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has suggested that his decision to pursue the presidency in 2027 may have created tension between him and President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who is the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), said he suspected that people might have informed Tinubu that he was planning to contest against him in the forthcoming election.

The governor made the disclosure during an interview with Arise Television on Friday, where he discussed the deterioration of his relationship with the President despite supporting his 2023 electoral victory.

According to Makinde, he could not establish the exact reason for the apparent change in their relationship but believed his presidential ambition might have contributed to it.

“Well, I can only guess. Yes, please. You know, people talk a lot. Maybe some people went and told him, ‘Look, Seyi may likely run against you.’ I don’t know. That may cause bad blood between us,” he stated.

The governor also recounted an encounter involving Tinubu and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, during which he promised to help preserve the PDP for Wike ahead of the 2027 elections.

Makinde recalled kneeling beside the President during the meeting and assuring him of his commitment to the arrangement.

“We were with the president and the minister of FCT. You know, knelt just by his side and told him that, look, I will hold PDP for you,” he said.

He further defended his political decisions, noting that he supported Wike during the 2023 PDP presidential primary, indicating that he was not pursuing a presidential ambition at the time.

Makinde also revealed that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s associates had approached him in 2023 with a proposal to run alongside the former vice-president.

However, he said he rejected the offer because he believed he lacked sufficient experience, having spent only three years as Oyo State governor and the same period in public service.

He said: “So, it was my ambition, but I supported him in 2023 during the presidential primary of PDP. So, I didn’t have ambition then. I suddenly just developed an ambition.

“And let me say this: former VP Atiku Abubakar had his people approach me to run with him, and I basically told them, ‘Look, I was only three years as a governor in Oyo State, and three years as a public servant. So it wasn’t enough to take such a decision.’

“So I said to them, ‘No, go look for someone else that can run. If it’s an ambition driving me, that is probably the surest part.”

Beyond the political disagreement, Makinde disclosed that Tinubu failed to contact him during the 56-day captivity of pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

He said he made efforts to secure a meeting with the President during the crisis, believing that the situation required the attention of the country’s leader.

“I tried to see the President when our students and our children and their teachers were kidnapped, because I thought if any part of Nigeria is going through such a challenge, the president should be interested. Actually, I expected the president to call me,” Makinde said.

Asked whether the President eventually contacted him, the governor replied: “He did not. No. Till tomorrow.”

He explained that he also attempted to reach Tinubu through the State Chief of Protocol but did not receive any response.

Makinde insisted that he had never spoken directly with the President about any matter, adding that he was concentrating on his responsibilities as governor.

“I’m saying it again that till tomorrow I’ve not spoken directly with the President about anything. I’m just minding my own business, running Oyo State. And I’m not complaining,” he said.

The pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area were eventually released after 56 days in captivity.