Tinubu is building political power, not national unity

Governor Seyi Makinde, presidential candidate, APM.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and the Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, has said that he supported President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 elections in the belief that he would build a government of national unity and competence, but rather he turned out to be building political power.

In a post on his RESET Nigeria website, Makinde, said three years later, he did not believe Tinubu’s administration "is taking us in that direction.”

He said: “I supported President Tinubu in 2023. Today, I am running against him in the 2027 presidential election.

“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.

“I supported President Tinubu because I believed he could bring people together to build a government of national unity and competence.

“I believed his administration would confront our economic challenges while creating opportunities for Nigerians to build better lives. Three years later, I did not believe his administration is taking us in that direction.”

According to him, Tinubu “could use that ability to establish a government of national unity and competence, focused on improving the lives of Nigerians.”

Makinde said he had become increasingly concerned about four things in the Tinubu administration over the past three years, one of which he described as “economic stability without economic development”.

“I acknowledge the improvements in some macroeconomic indicators under this administration.

“But government revenues and external reserves mean little to ordinary Nigerians if those gains do not translate into productive businesses, jobs, better incomes and improved living conditions.”

He argued that, contrary to the economic formula, the current administration claims to be following, economic stabilisation and development do not necessarily have to be sequential.

He added that Nigerians should not have to endure the current “level of hardship” while waiting for development.

Makinde identified “governing by excuses” as the second issue he had with Tinubu's administration.

“Over three years into this administration, we are hearing inherited poverty, insecurity, electricity problems and other challenges, which we are still hearing today, when Nigerians should be seeing more measurable progress towards resolving them,” he said.

The governor also accused Tinubu of “building political power instead of national unity.

“Instead, I have come to believe that his political alliances serve his political objectives more than the national interest, and I am deeply concerned about the weakening of opposition parties, which are essential to a functioning democracy.”

The fourth issue, he said, was “economic reforms without adequate protection for Nigerians.”

Makinde said he supported the need to reform the country’s petrol subsidy and foreign exchange systems but expected the reforms to be implemented with adequate measures to cushion their consequences.

Instead, he said, “millions of Nigerians who were already struggling were exposed to further hardship before sufficient measures were in place to protect them.”