The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, has declared that the 2027 presidential election will not be a contest between political parties but rather between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Nigerians.
Makinde spoke on Tuesday in Katsina, Katsina State, at the opening of the North-West Zonal Town Hall Meeting of the party with the electorate ahead of the 2027 polls.
The engagement is part of the nationwide town hall meetings planned by the Makinde-Daura Campaign Organisation across the six geopolitical zones.
The presidential candidate said the APM campaign would be issue-based and centred on its “Reset Nigeria” agenda, which he explained was designed to address challenges in the economy, education, security and the country’s socio-political system.
Makinde said, “For the election, I maintain and repeat it: it won’t be APC versus APM, or APM versus ADC, or ADC versus NDC. It will be APC versus Nigerians.”
He urged Nigerians to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and use them to participate in the 2027 election, stressing that the country was greater than any individual or political system.
“Please get your PVC and show the APC that Nigeria is bigger than individuals.
“It is bigger than even the systems that have held us down,” the governor stated.
On the economy, the APM candidate said his administration would seek to build an economy capable of operating round the clock, arguing that natural resources alone could not guarantee prosperity without skills, knowledge and intensive production.
He noted, “We are determined to reset our economy. Yes, people will argue that Nigeria is rich in natural resources. But natural resources are not enough.
“You must have skills and knowledge, and you must also have intensive production.”
He also promised to overhaul the education sector, saying his administration would establish accurate data on the number of out-of-school children and develop measures to return them to school.
On security, Makinde said his proposed reset would include a review of the country’s security architecture, while also advocating greater involvement of state governments in mining activities.
The governor recommended that the Federal Government should consider devolving mining responsibilities to the states, with the centre retaining an oversight role, arguing that such an arrangement could help address illegal mining and its associated security challenges.
Makinde also criticised President Bola Tinubu over his working leave to Europe without transmitting power to Vice-President Kashim Shettima, saying constitutional provisions should be respected whenever the President is unavailable.
“I have looked at the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and, of course, as a state governor, I also operate under that Constitution,” he observed, citing Section 145, which provides for the transmission of a written declaration when the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of office.
Makinde promised to abide by the provision if elected President, saying he would transmit power to his Vice-President whenever he was unavailable to discharge the functions of office.
He added, “I promise you that, as your President, I will follow the Constitution to the letter. If I am not going to be available, if I am on vacation, I will transmit power to the Vice-President. Record this and hold me accountable.”
His running mate, a former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Alhaji Lawal Daura, on his part, said the North-West and Nigeria as a whole were yearning for a change, particularly because of insecurity and poverty.
Daura told the gathering that Makinde’s “Reset Nigeria” agenda aligned with his own conviction that the country needed fundamental changes, adding that details of the programme would be presented as the campaign progressed.
He urged Nigerians to exercise their civic rights within the law and support the campaign’s proposed changes, stressing that insecurity must be reduced and normalcy restored across the country.
Also speaking, the National Chairman of the APM, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, said Nigerians should join the party in its bid to address insecurity, hunger, poverty and educational challenges.
He described Makinde as “young, active and pragmatic” and said his record in Oyo State could be examined by voters.
Dantalle added that Daura, whom he described as a security expert from the North-West, would bring his experience to bear on security challenges if the APM wins the 2027 election.
He appealed to Nigerians to support the party’s “Reset Nigeria” agenda and work collectively towards addressing the country’s challenges.
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