The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of working to weaken opposition parties and prevent them from uniting ahead of the 2027 general election.
Mr Makinde made the allegation at the MakindeDaura 2027 Presidency South-South Town Hall meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday.
He recalled that the APC had limited electoral presence in the South-South before the 2023 presidential election but gained ground in the region after the poll.
The governor alleged that the ruling party was now working to prevent opposition parties from forming a united front ahead of the next election.
“I can tell you they are doing everything possible to ensure that the opposition does not unite. But I have news for them; I am here in the South-South area and I deal with data, with logic, with science,” he said.
Mr Makinde claimed that five of the six states in the region had not supported the APC in the 2023 election, alleging that the outcome was subsequently undermined by the ruling party.
“Out of the six states in this region, five were not APC. The day after the election, your mandate that you gave freely was taken to APC because of this administration,” he said.
He urged voters in the region to reclaim what he described as their mandate by supporting the APM in 2027.
“You have the time now to retrieve your mandate. Tell them who owns this region,” he said.
Mr Makinde expressed confidence that the South-South would support his party in the next election, just as he claimed the region had rejected the APC in 2023.
“I am one hundred and one per cent sure that just like during the 2023 elections, this zone did not vote APC, they will vote APM in the next election,” he said.
The governor also criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over its economic policies and what he described as a pattern of announcing ambitious projects without delivering the expected benefits to Nigerians.
He cited the proposed superhighway, the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and the naira-for-crude policy, questioning their impact on transportation costs and the wider economy.
“You cannot keep complicating the lives of Nigerians. Everything from them is mega. They want to do a superhighway. There is a Presidential Initiative for CNG, but it came to nothing. Naira for crude came to nothing. Has it translated to lower cost of transportation for millions of Nigerians?” he asked.
Mr Makinde also faulted the government’s proposed approach to managing petroleum product prices, arguing that Nigerians needed clear policy frameworks rather than what he described as complicated economic measures.
“Don’t complicate things and say, this policy, that policy. Give us the template. Once we have the template, we can point out the real figures and tell you how to make it work for millions of Nigerians,” he said.
Speaking on the APM’s Reset Agenda, the governor said the party’s programme was built around education, economic growth, security and federalism.
He noted that despite the South-South’s vast oil resources, many residents continued to experience poverty, arguing that the region’s natural wealth had not translated into widespread prosperity.
Mr Makinde said the APM would prioritise economic growth, skills and knowledge acquisition, as well as a comprehensive resolution of the country’s security challenges.