Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its alleged interference in opposition parties, questioning why a ruling party with 31 governors should be afraid of electoral competition.

Speaking yesterday at the Makinde-Daura South-West Presidential Town Hall Meeting in Akure, Ondo State, Makinde also defended his decision to contest against President Bola Tinubu, saying their common South-West origin should not deny Nigerians a choice.

"You have 31 governors and you’re still afraid. Why using backdoor to cause problems for the opposition?” he asked.

Makinde said competence, capacity and the ability to deliver good governance should determine who leads Nigeria, arguing that the South-West had previously presented two presidential candidates without creating a crisis.

“People have asked us why we are contesting this election when the South-West already has somebody occupying that seat.

“There is nothing wrong with my decision to contest the 2027 presidential election against Tinubu despite both of us coming from the South-West geopolitical zone.

“The choice of who governs Nigeria should not be determined solely by geographical considerations, but by competence, capacity and the ability to deliver good governance,” he said.

Recalling the 1999 presidential contest between Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae, Makinde said the region had offered Nigerians an opportunity to choose between two prominent candidates.

“As a matter of fact, what the South-West did was to present two of its finest, two of its best, for Nigeria to choose from. Is there anything wrong with that this time around?” he asked.

The governor said he would focus on the energy required for leadership rather than make age a campaign issue.

“Having energy, being able to stay up late and having the strength to deal with the challenges we face as a country are important. We want a Nigeria that works for everybody. It is not a Nigeria that works for a very few,” he said.

He challenged other presidential candidates to demonstrate their fitness for the demands of office.

“So, please, when they bring their presidential candidate, let the candidate come here and jump around as well. If they can do that, vote for them.”

Makinde also criticised what he described as “turn-by-turn nepotism,” urging Nigerians to reject politics of deceit and support honest, inclusive leadership.

“I am saying this in front of the people of the South-West. We are known for fairness. How can we have a Nigeria where somebody says, ‘Emi ló kan’—it is my turn? No, it is not right,” he said.

Turning to public finance, Makinde criticised the Federal Government’s handling of national budgets, contrasting it with what he described as sustained improvements in Oyo State’s budget implementation.

He questioned the reported presentation of the United Nations budget to Tinubu in Abuja by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, arguing that the trip was an unnecessary expense.

“They can waste taxpayers’ money, but I refuse to agree that taxpayers’ money must be used to fly someone from New York to Abuja to present the UN budget.

“This is happening under an administration whose budget for Nigeria we cannot even identify. Is it the 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 budget?” he asked.

Makinde said his administration inherited budget performance of between 28 and 30 per cent in Oyo but had raised it to more than 70 per cent.

“This is not a one-year achievement. It is something we have sustained year after year. For the past seven-plus years, we have operated a January-to-December budget cycle in Oyo State.”

Explaining his Reset Nigeria agenda, he identified education, security, economic productivity and the socio-political environment as its four pillars.

He said improved infrastructure and security would support businesses, expand economic activity and create opportunities for young people and women.

“We will work on the security architecture of Nigeria such that our economy will not shut down at 8 p.m. We will expand our economy.

“When people are productive, they become prosperous. When they are prosperous, tax prosperity. Don’t tax poverty. The Reset Agenda is for us to tax prosperity, not poverty,” he said.

Makinde expressed confidence that the APM would win the presidential election and establish a transitional government of national unity.

“APM will win the 2027 election, and the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, is the incoming Senate President. The APM shall constitute a transitional government of national unity that will reset Nigeria for prosperity,” he said.

APM National Chairman, Yusuf Dantale, said the party’s message was to reset Nigeria, while Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, argued that Makinde’s experience in Oyo demonstrated his capacity to lead the country.

“Makinde has done it at sub-national level, he can fix Nigeria. Today, we are the biggest competition in the country,” Mohammed said.

The South-West coordinator of the Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Council, Eddy Olafeso, thanked state directors for their commitment, saying government existed to serve the people.

Meanwhile, APM governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Haruna Yunusa Saeed Kajuru, has unveiled a 10-point Reset Kaduna 2027 Agenda, promising to tackle insecurity, poverty, educational backwardness and poor governance.

Presenting the agenda during an engagement with party leaders, journalists and members of the public in Kaduna, Kajuru said practical policies that improved residents’ lives should take precedence over political rhetoric and media propaganda.

His priorities include security, poverty reduction, education and skills development, civil service reform, effective local government administration, agriculture, healthcare and environmental sustainability, urban and rural development, social inclusion and investment mobilisation.

Adopting the slogan, “Free Votes for Good Governance,” Kajuru urged residents to reject vote-buying and vote-selling, saying electoral choices should rest on competence, integrity and commitment to public service.

He said his ambition would not be driven by financial inducements or expectations of personal profit from office, warning that voter apathy could give vote-buying networks undue influence over election outcomes.

Kajuru, who said he contested the Kaduna governorship election in 2011 under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), linked his proposals to the national Reset Nigeria movement, highlighting restructuring, true federalism, tax relief for businesses and data-driven governance. (The Sun)