Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said he is offering Nigerians an alternative to President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the Yoruba people should have a choice beyond the incumbent.
Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, said he was seeking the opportunity to lead Nigeria and address what he described as the current administration’s failures in tackling economic challenges, insecurity and the development of skills and knowledge.
He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with Arise Television on Friday, arguing that his Yoruba identity should not prevent him from challenging Tinubu, who is also from the South-West.
“I think where we are right now is Nigeria is at a crossroads. If the solution will come from a Yoruba President, they must have choices. I’m also a Yoruba person,” he said.
The governor rejected the idea of contesting as a running mate to another politician, saying he wanted to present himself as a presidential option in his own right.
“I’m not running as a deputy to somebody, or as a vice to somebody. I am running to tell the people of Nigeria that the inability of the current administration to tackle decisively our economic issues, to tackle decisively the issue of insecurity, to tackle decisively the issue of skills and knowledge for our people, is not a Yoruba agenda,” he said.
Makinde said he was offering an alternative to both Nigerians and the Yoruba people, adding that he wanted the opportunity to lead from the centre.
“I, as a Yoruba man, am putting on the table an alternative for the people of Nigeria and the Yoruba people. I’m the one going to the centre to say, ‘Look, at the centre, give me the opportunity to reset Nigeria. Let me be the Yoruba President,’” he added.
Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, is also Yoruba and hails from Lagos State.
His re-election bid has made the 2027 contest particularly significant for the South-West, with Makinde seeking to challenge a president from the same region.
The Independent National Electoral Commission’s final list of presidential candidates for the January 16, 2027 election includes Tinubu, Makinde, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and Peoples Democratic Party candidate Sandy Ojang Onor, among others.
The contest is unfolding against the backdrop of debates over zoning and the informal rotation of the presidency between Nigeria’s North and South.
Tinubu’s emergence in 2023 followed the two terms of former President Muhammadu Buhari, from the North, while calls for power rotation have continued to shape discussions about the next presidential election.
Makinde’s argument, however, is that regional or ethnic identity should not deny Nigerians the opportunity to choose between candidates, including two contenders from the same ethnic group.
His candidacy comes as he campaigns on the APM platform with a promise to reset the country, while Tinubu seeks a second term under the APC.