Photo: An aerial view of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital — Wikimedia Commons
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has published the four reasons he is challenging President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, three years after supporting him.
Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), set out his position in a statement on his Reset Nigeria platform on Thursday, insisting the decision is about Nigeria's future, not a personal quarrel or ambition for Aso Rock.
- Economic stability without development, he says, has left ordinary Nigerians worse off
- He accuses the administration of governing by excuses three years in
- He pledges one four-year term leading a transitional government of national unity
Why Makinde says he changed his mind on Tinubu
"I supported President Tinubu in 2023 because I believed his experience and political relationships could help him bring Nigerians together," Makinde wrote. "Three years later, I no longer believe his administration is taking us in that direction."
His first concern is economic stability without development: he accepts that some macroeconomic indicators have improved, but says revenues and reserves mean little if they do not become jobs, incomes and better living conditions.
Second, he accuses the administration of governing by excuses, still explaining inherited poverty, insecurity and electricity problems when Nigerians should be seeing measurable progress.
Makinde on unity, opposition and reforms
Third, Makinde says political alliances have been used to build power rather than national unity, and he criticises what he describes as the weakening of opposition parties, which he calls essential to a working democracy.
Fourth, while backing subsidy and foreign-exchange reform in principle, he says the reforms were implemented without adequate protection for citizens, and that he would have convened the National Economic Council at the outset to prepare for the consequences.
What happens next
Makinde, who declared his ambition on May 14, 2026, said he could not wait until 2031 or 2035, citing young Nigerians struggling for work and households facing high electricity and transport costs.
He pledged to serve a single four-year term if elected. The Presidency and the APC had not publicly responded to the newsletter at the time of reporting.
NewsTweetNaija's full profile of Makinde, the fourth in our Meet Your Candidates 2027 series, publishes on Monday, November 16.
Credit: Premium Times reporting of Governor Makinde's Reset Nigeria newsletter, November 12, 2026.
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