I regret backing Tinubu, he has failed Nigerians — Makinde

Says support was based on expectations of national unity, competent leadership

OYO State governor, Seyi Makinde, has said he regrets supporting President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, declaring that the administration has failed to deliver the national unity, fairness and competent leadership that informed his decision.

Makinde said he had backed Tinubu, despite belonging to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), because he believed the President would put national interest above partisan considerations and assemble competent Nigerians from different parts of the country to address the nation’s challenges.

The governor, who spoke during a live radio interview in Ibadan on Sunday, said the reality of governance under Tinubu had fallen short of the expectations that informed the political alliance ahead of the 2023 general election.

Explaining his disappointment, Makinde questioned whether the administration had fulfilled its promise of inclusive and competence-driven leadership.

“But is it what we are seeing right now? Is it a government of national competence? Is it a government of national unity? The answer is no,” he said.

The governor was among the PDP governors who opposed the party’s handling of its presidential candidacy and leadership structure before the 2023 election. The disagreement eventually led the group, popularly associated with the G5 governors, to withhold support from the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and back Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Makinde said his decision was not driven solely by political calculations but by his belief that Nigeria needed a government that would promote fairness, justice and equal opportunities across the country.

“I supported fairness, justice and equity. I supported a united Nigeria, a Nigeria that gives opportunity to every part of this country,” he said.

He explained that the expectation of a southern presidency after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was central to the position taken by the aggrieved PDP governors.

“So, in 2023, we felt that after eight years of President Buhari who hailed from the north, the presidency should come to the south,” Makinde said.

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The governor disclosed that he had initially supported the presidential ambition of the then Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, within the PDP. However, the party’s decision to nominate Atiku, while Iyorchia Ayu remained its national chairman, deepened the disagreement.

According to Makinde, the group sought to resolve the crisis by asking Atiku to allow Ayu to be replaced by Taofeek Arapaja, then the PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), as part of efforts to address concerns about fairness and regional balance.

“We met with him in London. The only thing I said to him in London was: ‘allow us to go and remove Iyorchia Ayu and then make Taofeek Arapaja the acting chairman’ because he was the Deputy National Chairman (South) at that time,” he said.

When the disagreement persisted, Makinde said an intermediary facilitated contact with Tinubu, whom he had not previously dealt with politically.

“Because I had never had any political dealings with him (Tinubu) up until that point, someone else did the linking. I said, okay, fine. If this is what we will do, we will support you,” he said.

Makinde maintained that his support was based on an understanding that a Tinubu-led administration would bring together capable people across party and regional lines to reset the country.

“But even as a candidate, I must have mentioned it three or four times that our expectation would be a government of national unity; a government of national competence where you could start the process of resetting this country,” he said.

The governor also recounted an episode involving a proposed ministerial appointment, saying Tinubu had asked him to recommend a candidate for a ministerial position.

Makinde said he recommended an Oyo State indigene for the position of Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, but the nominee was not appointed to that portfolio. Adebayo Adelabu, another indigene of the state, was subsequently appointed Minister of Power.

He also disclosed that Tinubu had sought his assistance in organising the APC in Oyo State, but he rejected the request because he remained a PDP member.

Makinde quoted himself as telling the President: “No, sir, I can never help you organise APC in Oyo State because I am of the PDP.”

The governor’s latest remarks came amid his own presidential ambition and efforts to establish an alternative political platform through an alliance involving the PDP and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

He has also argued that Nigeria needs a viable opposition to sustain democratic competition and prevent the country from drifting towards a one-party state.

Returning to the central reason for his support for Tinubu in 2023, Makinde said he had expected the president to bring together people with the capacity to address Nigeria’s problems.

He said the outcome had left him disappointed.

“Reset the country, like I said, bring people from all over that can help the country. But unfortunately, that is not what we’re seeing. So, I regret that action. Yes, I do,” he said.

The governor added that leaders should be willing to acknowledge their mistakes and apologise when their decisions produce outcomes different from what they had anticipated.

“I’m also not afraid to apologise to people when I wrong them, because it’s only God that is all-knowing, that knows the end from the beginning,” Makinde said.