Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, says the outcome of the 2027 presidential election will be determined by Nigerians rather than wealthy individuals.
Makinde spoke at the APM North-Central Town Hall Meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, where he thanked Governor Abdullahi Sule and the people of the state for hosting his team.
He said the election would not be determined by pundits, pollsters or the number of billionaires supporting a candidate, but by the Nigerian electorate.
“2027 will be decided by people, not money bags. It won’t be about how many billionaires you have or how much money you can throw around. It will be Nigerians versus hunger and bad governance,” he said.
Makinde also spoke about the demands of governance, recounting his schedule over the previous 24 hours, including travelling from Ibadan to Abuja, attending meetings in the Federal Capital Territory, driving for three and a half hours to Lafia at night and meeting candidates in the North-Central zone until 2am.
Addressing supporters, including women farmers, market women, women living with disabilities and widows, Makinde said his administration would introduce special programmes for vulnerable groups while seeking to reset the economy.
He said the proposed reset would focus on four areas: security, education, the economy and the socio-political environment.
According to him, Nigeria could be reset within four years, citing the 10-month tenure of a former military head of state who, he said, helped end military rule and usher in the democratic system.
“So we can reset Nigeria. Reset and give Nigeria a new security architecture. Reset and give Nigeria a new path for education. Reset our economy, utilising data science and logic, and reset our socio-political environment in four years. That is our agenda,” he said.
Makinde said his administration would pursue a transitional government of national unity from May 29, 2027, aimed at producing new leadership and an agenda for sustainable national development.
The governor also argued that insecurity remained a major concern, particularly in the North-Central region.
He questioned the budgetary provision for newly announced Army divisions in the 2026 budget and asked whether increased allocations from the Federation Account to states had translated into improved efforts to address hunger.
Makinde cited Oyo State as an example, saying that when he assumed office in 2019, the state depended on federal allocation for more than 80 per cent of its revenue. He said his administration reduced the dependence to 65 per cent by 2022 before the removal of fuel subsidy pushed it back to nearly 80 per cent.
Also speaking, APM National Chairman, Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said the party could no longer be taken for granted, claiming that Nigerians were joining it ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dantalle said the number of governorship aspirants at the meeting demonstrated what he described as the party’s renewed activities and growing presence.
He said the 2027 election should focus on addressing hunger and underdevelopment rather than party labels.
Lamenting on economic hardship, Dantalle urged voters not to exchange their votes for monetary inducements or food items.
He urged voters to consider candidates’ leadership records, policies and commitments rather than election-season handouts.
