2027: Makinde can’t challenge Tinubu, Oyo APC declares

The All Progressives Congress in Oyo State has declared that Governor Seyi Makinde lacks the capacity to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

The party described Makinde’s presidential ambition as a political drama designed to entertain and distract Nigerians, alleging that public funds were being wasted on the governor’s pursuit of the presidency.

The Oyo APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, in Ibadan, on Sunday, warned that those behind the alleged misuse of state resources would be made to refund every kobo at the appropriate time.

The APC’s latest submission came on the heels of a statement made by Makinde on Saturday that he would be available to receive chieftaincy titles after completing his tenure in May 2027, as he would be free and have nothing serious to do again at that time.

The PUNCH reports that Makinde disclosed this while speaking shortly after he was installed as the Aare Asoludero of Ibarapaland by the Eleruwa of Eruwa during the monarch’s first coronation anniversary in Eruwa, the headquarters of Ibarapa East Local Government Area of the state.

Makinde was also reported to have warned traditional rulers and institutions against partisanship in the 2027 election.

The statement cautioned the governor against issuing threats to citizens of the state, including traditional rulers and religious leaders, “simply because they receive APC candidates and supporters in the palaces and places of worship.

“It is important for us to reiterate that Governor Makinde does not possess the wherewithal to slug it out with President Bola Tinubu in 2027, but he (Makinde) is only out to make some noise and distract the global community.

“Unfortunately, he cannot achieve his aim of emerging as the Political Comedian of the Year without wasting the resources of the Pacesetters State, and this would not augur well for the good people of the state.

“Makinde knows, in his mind, that contesting for the Nigerian presidency is not a child’s play, while he does not possess the personal quality, experience and strategy to be the next president in 2027; yet, he is parading himself as the presidential candidate of the structureless Allied People’s Movement.

“Makinde can afford to display campaign posters and billboards in parts of Oyo and Bauchi states for obvious reasons, but the best he can get, even if he gets himself on the ballot, is to come in a distant 8th position.

“Most Nigerians, including leaders of thought and eminent personalities, know that President Tinubu is the best for the country, even as the focus on his likely successor would shift to the North after his reelection in 2027.

“This implies that the person of Seyi Makinde cannot be trusted to rule the world’s most populous black nation at a time like this.

“However, Makinde is being monitored as he embarks on a political journey that has failed before its commencement, and he will be made to cough out all the public funds wasted on it,” Sadare said.