2027: Makinde targets jobs, manufacturing in APM agenda

The Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has promised to prioritise job creation, skills training and manufacturing as part of his party’s agenda for Nigeria, with its manifesto scheduled for unveiling on November 4.

Makinde spoke at the APM South-East town hall meeting in Enugu, where he said the party had consulted Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones to develop solutions to unemployment, poverty, insecurity and the trust deficit between leaders and citizens.

Makinde said the party’s agenda rested on four pillars: economic recovery, security restructuring, education reform and a reset of the sociopolitical space.

“We do not simply manufacture policies out of thin air. We listen to our people, hear what they want to see, and incorporate their expectations into our agenda,” Makinde said.

The governor disclosed that the party had partnered with Skill Reset Nigeria to train one million young Nigerians in skills intended to improve their employment prospects.

He also identified high interest rates and inadequate access to long-term financing as major obstacles to manufacturing, promising to create a business environment that would encourage entrepreneurship and sustainable job creation.

Makinde urged Nigerians to reject religious and ethnic divisions, arguing that the country’s challenges affected everyone.

“Our message to you today is this: Please reject all forms of division along religious or ethnic lines. The challenges we face do not discriminate on the basis of religion or ethnicity,” he said.

The governor also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria, saying leaders should combine prayers with honesty and action at home.

“Prayers can also be answered here in Nigeria. Please, we will remain here, pray for our country and pray for our leaders because Nigeria belongs to all of us,” Makinde said.

He urged supporters to protect their Permanent Voter Cards and use them in the 2027 election, alleging that political opponents were distributing money to buy support and destroying the party’s campaign materials.

“Let them pull down our posters. Let them destroy our billboards. But please, keep your Permanent Voter Cards and be ready to use them to vote. They cannot take your thumbprints away from you. That is what you will use to send them out of power,” he said.

The APM National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, called on Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and support Makinde, citing the Oyo governor’s reported support for the President in 2023.

“Today, we are calling on President Tinubu to support a new direction and step aside, withdraw from the 2027 race to allow Makinde complete remaining four years Southern term,” Dantalle said.

He identified unreliable electricity and transportation challenges as major obstacles to economic growth, while describing insecurity as a symptom of deeper socioeconomic problems.

The party’s vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, said the APM intended to tackle Nigeria’s challenges through its 16-point agenda, insisting that the party was committed to reforming the system for the benefit of citizens.

“We are RESETERS, volunteers, and we are here to sacrifice for the good of the nation. We are serious about this mission. We are not here to joke, to steal or to lie,” Daura said.