2027: I’ll reset Nigeria in four years – Makinde

The presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said four years will be enough to reset Nigeria if elected president in the 2027 general elections.

Makinde, who spoke during a North Central town hall meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Monday, said his administration would focus on providing a new security architecture, improving education, restructuring the economy through data, science and logic, and resetting the country’s socio-political environment.

The APM presidential candidate, in the programme monitored by our correspondent, said the proposed reset agenda would be implemented within four years, adding that Nigeria could achieve significant changes within a single presidential term if there was adequate planning, energy and commitment to governance.

He stated, “Please listen to me and listen very carefully. We are prepared to tackle the challenges faced by this country through our reset agenda. I am a reseter. Yes, together we shall reset this country.

“The reset agenda can be completed in four years. After all, we had someone who was head of state in this country for 10 months, and he was able to end military rule and usher in the democracy that we now enjoy in Nigeria.

“So, we can reset this country and give Nigeria a new security architecture, reset and give Nigeria a new path for education, reset our economy utilising data, science and logic, and reset our socio-political environment in four years. That is our agenda.

“So, as your President from May 29, 2027, we will run a transitional government of national unity that will culminate in new players and a new agenda for Nigeria’s sustainable development.”

Makinde said the Oyo State Government had commenced preparations for the 2027 budget, explaining that the process involved consultations across the state’s geopolitical zones to identify the priorities and needs of the people, a practice he said had been sustained for the past seven years.

He criticised the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government for taking several actions without adequate budgetary planning, stressing the need for proper planning before implementing such measures.

The APM presidential candidate stated, “But at the federal level, yes, insecurity is a big issue, especially here in the North-Central zone of Nigeria. They (APC-led Federal Government) expanded army divisions to 12. I was looking at the budget for 2026. I was looking for the item in that budget relating to the expansion of those army divisions. I did not see it.

“If they have it in the budget that they prepared for 2026, let them bring it out. So, you cannot just wake up and say, well, without any plan, I am setting up or expanding army divisions to tackle insecurity. There has to be a lot of planning that will go into this.”

Makinde said Oyo State’s dependence on federal allocation had risen to almost 80 per cent, describing it as the APC government’s “voodoo economy.”

He added, “Yes, they claim we have more money, that is, the state governments. The state governments were collecting more money from the Federation Account. I am not arguing with that.

“Yes, in terms of the totality of the money, yes, we have more money, but has it translated to fighting hunger in our society? The answer is no.

“For us in Oyo State, when I came in in 2019, the state’s dependence on federal allocation was about 80-plus per cent. We worked really hard to bring it down. And you can go check the data.

“By 2022, we had gone down to 65 per cent in terms of our dependence on federal allocation.

“Then, by 2023, when they came on board with their voodoo economy, the resultant effect is that today, Oyo State is back to almost 80 per cent dependence on federal allocation. That is their voodoo economy.”

The APM vice presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, said the party’s proposed reset agenda was driven by the need to address the challenges of poverty, insecurity and other social problems confronting Nigerians.

Daura said the party would pursue politics based on sincerity, honesty, commitment, dedication and focus, rather than lies and deceit.

• ADC queries identities as APC welcomes northern defectors
• Court fines 21 companies N30m each over investment fraud
• 2027: Kano CP warns police against partisanship

He added that the APM would focus on delivering tangible results that Nigerians could see and feel if elected in 2027.

Daura stated: “Now, looking at the number of people here, and of course, the background of all those gathered here, there is no doubt that Nigerians are yearning for a change, a change for the better and a tremendous improvement for our great nation.

“When the national chairman was making his remarks, he mentioned so many things, including insecurity and other issues bedevilling the nation, such as poverty and the rest of it.

“We don’t need to say that, for quite some time, people have been allowed to rule this nation without really having an idea of how to fix it.

“I need to borrow a common phrase: it is always motion without movement. Ours is going to be motion with movement for the betterment of Nigerians and Nigeria.

“We are Nigerians. We have suffered enough. At least for now, we need to have a change for the better. And that is why, when His Excellency, Seyi Makinde, came up with the idea of resetting Nigeria, some of us quickly bought into that idea, because without resetting Nigeria, how do you expect most of the things that have been done in the past to help?”

He said Nigerians had had enough, noting that despite their support for successive governments, poverty, insecurity and other social problems had persisted.

Daura continued, “We want to see a positive change that can be authentically pointed out. Therefore, we want to be very, very serious, and we want to be taken seriously.

“Enough, as I used to say, is enough. Nigerians have paid their dues. Nigerians have given tremendous support to various governments, but Nigerians have not gotten a fair deal because poverty, insecurity, and so many other social ills have continued to bedevil the nation by the day.

“We are result-oriented. We are focused on getting results to the extent that Nigerians will see and feel them. That is why we’re here. And, by the special grace of God, we are going to deliver.

“So, please spread the awareness that, come 2027, Nigerians should be ready to usher in a new government under Engineer Seyi Makinde.”

APM national chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, described the North-Central region as strategic to Nigeria’s unity and development, saying the zone had a major role to play in fixing the country.

Dantalle criticised successive administrations for failing to deliver meaningful development, while lamenting the rise in petrol prices and its impact on Nigerians.

He also identified insecurity and poor electricity supply as major challenges, urging Nigerians to hold the government accountable for its promises on power.

Aside from Makinde, another Southern candidate, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has promised to spend four years laying the foundation for a better Nigeria.

However, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate and former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, who is from the North, has not stated how many years he intends to spend in office.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress is seeking re-election for another four-year term to continue the programmes and policies of his administration, which began in 2023.

The debate over the number of years a president should spend in office has gained prominence amid the unwritten understanding of an eight-year, two-term power rotation between the North and South.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari, who is from the North, spent eight years in office, with some advocates arguing that the South should also complete an eight-year, two-term tenure.