Presidency: I’m Qualified To Lead Nigeria — Makinde

As reports of his interest in the country’s presidency continues to gather steam, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says he is fit to lead Nigeria.

Makinde made the comment when he fielded questions from a select group of journalists during a media parley in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday.

The governor hinged this on his experience leading the South-West state and his work as an engineer over the past years.

“Let me make this very clear: to serve this country at the highest level, I am qualified — I’m even overqualified,” Governor Makinde told the gathering.

“I ran Oyo State, even the current president — what brought him to the table? He was governor of Lagos State for two terms. By the end of May 2027, by God’s grace and God sparing my life, I will have completed the full tenure as a two-term governor of Oyo State.”

He said, “Professionally, I ran a company from a very young age. At 29, some of my colleagues were still finishing their youth service. I ran the company, and people can go out there and check — I did not go to NNPC or the likes. I was working for multinational oil companies, including Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron.”

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With more than one year left before the country heads to the polling booths, Makinde says it is too early to speak about the presidential race.

According to him, Nigerians want a viable democracy with strong opposition parties. He criticised the defection of governors and other top politicians to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), arguing that the move does not bode well for Nigeria.

The Oyo governor, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is in his second and last term as the leader of the state. Though he supported President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, Makinde does not want to follow that path again.

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He said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who was his ally and also backed Tinubu in that poll, can throw his weight behind the president.

“I was in a meeting with President Tinubu, Nyesom Wike, and others when Wike volunteered to hold the PDP for Tinubu against 2027, and I was in shock,” the governor said during the media chat. “Wike can support the president in 2027, but I will not.”

According to him, his immediate priority is the survival of the PDP, which has seen its rank severely depleted with the mass defection of members, including governors and lawmakers, among others.