Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State is currently in the State House, Abuja, for a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, raising fresh political speculation amid ongoing realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Makinde, a key leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), arrived at the State House shortly after the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who recently defected from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and proceeded directly to the President’s office.
The Oyo State governor was one of five PDP governors—popularly known as the G-5—who opposed the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election and worked against the party’s ticket.
The group argued that the PDP’s zoning arrangement favoured a southern presidential candidate after the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Other members of the G-5 were former Rivers State governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, former Benue State governor Samuel Ortom, ex-Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and former Abia State governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
However, Makinde and Wike have since fallen out.
In a recent interview, the Oyo governor said the rift stemmed from a meeting involving President Tinubu in which Wike allegedly pledged to “hold PDP” for the President ahead of the 2027 election without the consent of other party stakeholders.
“I was in a meeting with the President and Wike and a few others, and Wike said to the President that I will hold PDP for you against 2027. So, we got up, and I asked Wike, did we agree to this,” Makinde said.
Makinde stressed that while Wike is entitled to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid, others within the PDP have a right to resist moves they believe could weaken democratic pluralism.
“The real issue is that Wike would like to support the President in 2027, that’s fine; it’s within his right to do that. But some of us want democracy to survive in Nigeria. We don’t want to drift into a one-party state, and we want to ensure that PDP survives”, he said.
He added that the President did not solicit Wike’s pledge, describing it as unsolicited.
“The President did not ask him; he volunteered it,” Makinde said, noting that attempts to persuade Wike to reconsider were unsuccessful.
“That is why I will never support the President for 2027,” Makinde added, affirming his independence in making political decisions.
As of the time of filing this report, the agenda of the meeting between President Tinubu and Governor Makinde had not been disclosed.
