Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said that he would not support the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
While saying that his stance was a fight for the survival of his party and multiparty democracy ,he stated that others should be allowed to freely choose who they’ll support politically.
Speaking during a media chat at the government house on Tuesday in Ibadan, the state capital, the governor Makinde took a swipe at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, he explained that Wike cannot dictate political choices to others.
Makinde added that his resolve not to support Tinubu in 2027 hinges on the need to ensure democracy survives in Nigeria, the PDP remains a viable political party, and the country does not drift into a one-party state.
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According to Makinde,i was in a meeting with Wike, President Tinubu and a few others when the former Rivers State Governor declared that he would hold the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Tinubu in 2027.
“Wike’s statement shocked me, and i won’t be part of such plans.
President Tinubu didn’t request Wike to hold the PDP for him, it was the FCT Minister who offered to hold the party for the president.
“So,Wike can support the president in 2027, but I will not.”
Reflecting on his own trajectory to contextualize his political independence, Governor Makinde recalled a pivotal early career achievement. He stated that at the age of 29, he secured his first major contract with Mobil worth $1 million, at a time when, as he noted, Nyesom Wike had probably just left law school.
Governor Makinde’s highlights a deepening division within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, with one faction led by Wike seen as aligning with the ruling party, and another, led by Makinde, advocating for strict party autonomy ahead of the next general elections.
Recalled both Wike and Makinde were part of the G5 Governors who openly supported Bola Tinubu of the APC against their own party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 presidential election.
After the election, which was won by Tinubu, Wike’s relationship with Makinde has deteriorated, with both men now supporting different factions of the PDP.
