Seyi Makinde declares 2027 presidential bid on APM

Governor of Seyi Makinde, Seyi Makinde, has declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, saying the country urgently needs a new direction amid worsening economic and social conditions.

Makinde announced his presidential bid on Thursday at a joint mega rally organised by the Peoples Democratic Party and the APM at Mapo Hall in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

“The time to reset Nigeria is now. Therefore, today, I, Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, announce my candidacy for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the governor declared.

Makinde said the condition of the country had continued to deteriorate, with many Nigerians struggling daily to survive. According to him, those entrusted with the responsibility of improving citizens’ welfare had failed in their duties.

“This is why, for the past several months, one question has been at the top of my mind: where do we go from here? Is this how we should continue as a nation?” he said.

“We have been pushed to the wall with the belief that we will turn against ourselves or, worse still, that we will become too weary to survive on a daily basis to fight back.”

The Oyo governor also dismissed claims that opposition parties could not work together, insisting that Nigerians themselves now represented the real opposition.

“They said opposition cannot unite, but I am here today to say that it is a miscalculation. The opposition in Nigeria is not just a political party. The opposition is the everyday Nigerian for whom the country does not work,” he added.

Makinde further announced a political alliance between the PDP and the APM ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying the coalition would field candidates for positions ranging from the presidency to state assemblies.

“So today in Ibadan, the first grand alliance is formed — the alliance of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Allied Peoples Movement,” he said.

“This handshake will allow us to field candidates at all levels. We will field candidates from top to bottom — from the presidency to state assemblies, and everything in between.”

Earlier, Makinde had led the Taminu Turaki faction of the PDP in Oyo State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the APM as part of a strategic alliance for the 2027 elections.

The agreement was signed by Makinde and the National Chairman of the APM, Yusuf Dantalle, on behalf of both parties.

Under the arrangement, candidates of the PDP faction seeking governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly seats in Oyo State are expected to contest on the APM platform in the next general election.