Makinde will defeat Tinubu in 12 battleground states — MDPCO

The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has declared that its presidential candidate, Mr Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), will defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 12 battleground states identified by the President and in other states across the country in the January 2027 presidential election.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has identified the battleground states as locations Tinubu will visit to personally campaign for his re-election.

They are Kaduna, Rivers, Plateau, Oyo, Borno, Enugu, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Kano, Adamawa and Lagos states.

However, the MDPCO claims that voters will reject the President in these states over what it described as his administration’s unimpressive performance.

The organisation also challenged Tinubu to visit Plateau, Kaduna, Kano and other states by road to witness the deplorable condition of federal highways, widespread infrastructural decay and the hardship faced by Nigerians.

The MDPCO issued the challenge on Saturday in Abuja through its Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Richard Ihediwa, who expressed confidence that Makinde would defeat Tinubu and the APC, particularly in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The MDPCO said, “We are confident that Engr. Seyi Makinde will defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 12 battleground states identified by the President, as well as in other states across the federation, in the January 2027 presidential election.

“No amount of political manoeuvring, intimidation or abuse of incumbency by the President’s associates can stop the growing support for the APM candidate and his Reset Nigeria Agenda.

“We challenge President Tinubu to visit Plateau, Kaduna, Kano and other states by road to witness firsthand the deplorable state of federal highways, the hardship faced by Nigerians and the widespread infrastructural decay across the country.”

Ihediwa attributed what he described as a decline in Tinubu’s electoral prospects to public dissatisfaction with his administration’s policies, which the organisation blamed for rising hardship. He also criticised the President’s campaign strategy, urging him to engage directly with residents rather than rely on rallies and what he described as rented crowds.

The MDPCO spokesman said Makinde’s ‘Reset Nigeria Agenda’ offered an alternative to Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’, with an emphasis on rebuilding institutions and establishing an all-inclusive, four-year transitional government of national unity.

He explained that the proposed government would prioritise education, the economy, security and sociopolitical reforms. It would also implement strategies to tackle poverty through increased production, strengthen security through intelligence gathering and kinetic and non-kinetic measures, expand access to quality education and promote inclusive governance.

The organisation added that feedback from the campaign indicated that Makinde’s message was resonating with Nigerians, particularly young people, who, it said, were increasingly identifying with the APM candidate’s proposals.

The MDPCO urged Tinubu to avoid wasting public resources on his campaign council, which it described as a “Nebuchadnezzar” coalition of failed politicians. It insisted that the APC would struggle to secure the votes required to win the 2027 presidential election.