The presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has declared that he is confident of winning the 2027 presidential election, saying he has God and Nigerians on his side.
Makinde spoke on Sunday during a church service at the Church of Christ in Nations, Jos, Plateau State, where he said his presidential ambition was not backed by any political godfather but by God Almighty and Nigerians.
In a statement by his Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, on Sunday, Makinde said his ambition was driven by the need to reset Nigeria through effective leadership and address challenges in security, the economy, education and the socio-political system.
The statement read, “The APM presidential candidate specifically said that his aspiration is not backed by any political godfather but by God Almighty and the people of Nigeria.
“He expressed optimism that God would be merciful to Nigerians by providing the right leadership through the 2027 presidential election.
“According to Makinde, ‘When I said in Oyo State in 2018 that I would like to be governor, somebody asked me, ‘Governor of which Rotary District?’ I said Governor of Oyo State, and they asked, ‘With no godfather; nobody in politics who can stand in for you?’ I responded by saying, ‘Well, I have God the Father. And I became the Governor of Oyo State.
“This time around, we also have God the Father, and God will be merciful unto Nigeria, and He will show us mercy in this country.”
Makinde said his administration in Oyo State was guided by planning, transparency and accountability, with development road maps covering his two terms from 2019 to 2027.
He added that his Reset Nigeria Agenda, prepared ahead of the 2027 election, focuses on four key areas: security, the economy, education and the socio-political system.
The statement read, “While presenting the Reset Nigeria Manifesto to the leadership of the church, Makinde asked Nigerians to hold him accountable for the promises in the document.
“I want Nigerians to be able to hold me accountable, not just through promises but through documented commitments. Everything is written down in black and white, and I am prepared to be held accountable for everything contained in this document.”
Makinde urged Nigerians, particularly Christians, to participate in politics and get ready to enforce their will in the 2027 presidential election.
He said, “Please, get ready and participate. History is about to happen again.”
The President of COCIN, Rev. Dr Amos Mohzo, urged Makinde to address Nigeria’s major challenges, particularly worsening insecurity and economic hardship, while praying for his success in the 2027 presidential election.
Mohzo also encouraged the APM candidate to sustain his campaign, expressing hope that God’s will would prevail in his political journey.
Makinde, who flagged off his presidential campaign in Bauchi State on Saturday, is in Jos for the party’s Plateau State rally scheduled for Monday at Rayfield Park.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential election.
Speaking during a live political programme on Jay FM radio station in Jos, ahead of the rally, Makinde said Nigeria needed a complete reset, not mere reform, to move forward.
Makinde identified the economy as the foremost priority, insisting that economic performance should be measured by the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.
“Reform is possible when the good within a system outweighs the bad. At that point, you can say the system can be tweaked and improved. But when the good within the system accounts for only about 20 per cent of what you expect, then the best course of action may not be to tweak it.
“It is like your computer system. If it keeps hanging whenever you try to run a programme, the best course of action is not necessarily to keep tweaking the programme. You have a reset button. Basically, you shut down the system, reboot it and then have a clearer path to proceed with your programme.
“So, reform is not going to work within the environment we are in. I was not born a politician; I decided that I must participate because the future of millions of our people is involved and also for potentially the greatest black country on the face of the earth; their destiny is also involved.
“The economy must work for everybody. It is not about taking numbers out and saying external reserves have grown or quoting what the World Bank said about inflationary trends.
“What is the ordinary man on the street feeling? Are they able to feed themselves? If you cannot feel the impact of an improving economy at the street level, then the economy is not getting better,” he said.
He called for greater investment in skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, education and intensive production, arguing that Nigeria must create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and provide employment opportunities for its youthful population.
Makinde also promised to decentralise Nigeria’s security architecture through the establishment of state police if elected president in 2027.
He said state police would enable governors to respond more effectively to security challenges in their respective states, adding that states willing and ready to establish the institution should be allowed to do so with appropriate safeguards.
The governor, who reiterated his long-standing support for state police, recalled that he had advocated the establishment of state police shortly after assuming office in 2019, following growing security concerns across the country.
“When I became governor, we already had security challenges in different parts of the country. We approached the late President Muhammadu Buhari towards the end of 2019 and said we should have state police.
“At that time, the argument was that some states were not even able to pay workers’ salaries. Now you want them to establish state police. They asked how they could do that when they were unable to pay their workers,” he said.
Makinde explained that governors in the South-West subsequently established the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, as an alternative security arrangement pending the establishment of state police.
“Amotekun was a midway between having full-fledged state police and having nothing.
“If these operatives were only permitted to carry sticks, they could gather intelligence. They would be there; they could see what was happening and provide useful information.
“That was the compromise at the time, and I am happy to report that we have not had issues getting them to work with the federal security agencies. It has worked very well in our region,” he stated.
The governor acknowledged concerns that state police could become a tool in the hands of some governors to oppress citizens and political opponents, but maintained that appropriate safeguards could address such fears.
“Those concerns are legitimate because some people believe it could become a tool in the hands of state governors to oppress the people.
“But we have gone through this type of arrangement before. We do not all have to establish state police at the same time.
“Let the opportunity exist. If you think you are ready, you have ticked the boxes and put the safeguards in place, you should go ahead and secure your state,” he said.
Makinde further argued that Nigeria needed a security arrangement that reflected the realities of individual states, rather than relying entirely on a centralised structure.
He also linked insecurity to the absence of economic opportunities for young Nigerians, warning that failure to provide a clear future for the country’s growing youth population could worsen security challenges.
“Some of these young people are now getting involved in crime and criminality because we have not given them a path to the future.
“If you do not give opportunities to the coming generation, it is a recipe for bigger conflicts ahead of us,” he said.
The APM presidential candidate noted that Nigeria’s population was projected to exceed 300 million, with more than 70 per cent expected to be below 34 years, stressing the need for deliberate policies to harness the potential of young people.
Makinde also recalled his stance during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when he declined to impose a total lockdown in Oyo State.
He said, “I was faced with an almost identical situation in 2020. Six months after we got into government, COVID hit. And we had a meeting, a National Economic Council meeting in Abuja. And the Vice President, who normally would chair the National Economic Council, came in and said, ‘Well, mandatorily, we can see what is happening around the world. All of you should go and lock down your states.’
“And I said, ‘Sir, I cannot lock down my state because I know people in my state who, if they don’t go out today, have no food to eat that night or even the following day. How are we going to look after these people?’
“So, we argued back and forth. Eventually, we agreed that it should be optional. If you think your state needs to be locked down, lock your state down.
“And I didn’t lock down my state. People criticised me at that time and said, ‘Well, he is going to kill the people in his state,’ and things like that. But we were dealing with science, data and logic. It wasn’t as if I had 100 per cent alignment within my own team as well.”
He added, “But something stood out clearly: the 1918 Spanish flu, which was almost similar to COVID. After that flu, people in temperate regions started having flu shots every year. We were not having flu shots here. Very well.
“We were going through from 1918 till 2020. So, this idea even came from the virology unit at the University of Ibadan.
“They said, ‘Well, we’re studying this. We need to manage things and all of that, and I said, ‘Well, some of our people would rather die of COVID than die of hunger because they know they can deal with hunger if they go out.
“So, we’ve done it before. We can do the same with state police, and it will help the security situation at the state level.”
On education, Makinde said he remained a firm believer in the vision of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo on free education.
On how he intends to reinvigorate higher education to make institutions research hubs, Makinde said, “Well, you know, I kept saying that the first thing we will do is to let Nigerians know our situation sincerely. Don’t hide anything. Bring it forward, and the next thing we will do is to ensure that we have accountability.”
Source: punchng.com
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