Get Guardian on GoogleOyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has revealed why he is running against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election despite supporting him in 2023.
Makinde disclosed this in his latest newsletter titled “RESET NIGERIA”, with the governor planning to contest the presidency on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
“I supported President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023. Today, I am running against him in the 2027 presidential election,” he wrote.
“Some people have asked what changed. Others believe there must have been a personal disagreement between us.
“I understand why they would think that. But my decision is not about a personal disagreement or an ambition to occupy Aso Rock. It is about the future of Nigeria and the opportunities available to Nigerians.”
Makinde said he supported President Tinubu because he believed he could bring people together to build a government of national unity and competence.
He said he also believed that Tinubu’s administration would confront the country’s economic challenges while creating opportunities for Nigerians to build better lives.
“Three years later, I no longer believe his administration is taking us in that direction. To explain why this matters so much to me, I need to tell you a little about myself,” Makinde said, explaining that he grew up in a lower-middle-class family.
The Nigeria That Gave Me a Chance
Makinde said his father was a teacher who later retrained to become an accountant while his mother was a civil servant who worked as a telephone operator.
“We were not wealthy. But we lived in a Nigeria where an ordinary family could reasonably believe that education, hard work and determination would give their children a better life,” the governor explained.
“I attended Bishop Phillips Academy in Ibadan and later studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
“My education gave me the foundation to build a career in engineering. I specialised in industrial measurement and safety systems, and at 29, I established Makon Engineering and Technical Services.”
According to the Oyo State Governor, he started small and built a business that eventually grew beyond Nigeria but he stressed that he did not achieve this because he came from a wealthy or politically connected family.
“I had an education, acquired useful skills, found opportunities and worked to make the most of them,” Makinde said, explaining that Nigeria gave him the opportunity to live his dreams.
“And that is what troubles me about the Nigeria we have today. How many young Nigerians can confidently expect the same opportunities?
“How many can complete their education, acquire useful skills, find meaningful work or start a business with a reasonable expectation that it will succeed?
“How many parents can confidently tell their children that if they work hard and do the right things, they will have a better life?
“I am not suggesting that the Nigeria of my youth was perfect. It had its problems. But it gave people like me a chance. And I believe every Nigerian deserves that chance.”
