2027: Allow Me Complete South-West’s Remaining Four Years — Makinde

The presidential campaign of Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) candidate, Seyi Makinde, has argued that the South-West should be allowed to complete the remaining four years of its expected eight-year presidential tenure.

Felix Hyat, Director-General of the campaign’s National Campaign Management Committee, made the argument during the inauguration of the committee as the campaign began mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Hyat said the South-West had occupied the presidency for the first four years of the current eight-year cycle under President Bola Tinubu, and argued that the region should be given another opportunity to complete the period.

He questioned why other regions should seek the presidency before the South-West completed the expected tenure, insisting that the region should not be judged solely by the performance of the incumbent.

According to him, the region’s continued participation in the presidency should be determined by the individual candidate’s record and capacity rather than regional sentiment.

Hyat argued that dissatisfaction with Tinubu’s administration should not automatically translate into excluding the South-West from producing another president.

He presented Makinde as an alternative candidate from the same region, saying the campaign intended to offer Nigerians a different approach to governance.

The campaign director-general also called on political leaders and young Nigerians to avoid making electoral decisions based solely on ethnic, religious or regional considerations.

He said the 2027 election should focus on the quality of candidates, their proposed policies and their capacity to address the country’s challenges.

Hyat further argued that the North had a moral responsibility to support the continuation of the South’s expected eight-year presidential cycle in the interest of national cohesion, although the arrangement is an informal political understanding rather than a constitutional requirement.

The campaign has set an ambitious mobilisation target as it seeks to build support for Makinde’s presidential bid under the APM.

Makinde has separately promised that, if elected in 2027, he would establish a four-year transitional Government of National Unity focused on addressing insecurity, poverty, electricity shortages and economic challenges.

The governor has also called for greater transparency in the federal government’s petroleum pricing process and criticised aspects of its energy and economic policies.

President Tinubu, who assumed office in May 2023, is seeking re-election in 2027.

The debate over regional power rotation is expected to remain part of the political discussions ahead of the election, alongside competing proposals on economic management, security and national development.