By Ayodele Oni
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has declared that he won’t be supporting President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Makinde also rapped the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to allow others make their political choices, rather than teleguiding them.
The governor spoke on Tuesday during a media chat in Ibadan, Oyo State, with Channels Television, where he explained that Wike cannot dictate political choices to others.
Makinde, who recalled a meeting between him, Tinubu, and Wike, claimed that the former Rivers State governor told the president he would “hold the PDP” for him in 2027, expressed surprise at the minister’s comment.
“I was in a meeting with President Tinubu, Nyesom Wike, and others when Wike volunteered to hold the PDP for Tinubu against 2027, and I was in shock. Wike can support the president in 2027, but I will not.”
The governor asked Wike to “allow us to make our choice” and said his immediate goal is to ensure that “PDP survives”.
Wike and Makinde, as members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), supported Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.
Both were members of the ‘G five’ which comprised five PDP governors as of then — Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Nyesom Wike (Rivers
The group supported Tinubu after the then-PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, failed to step down for a southerner to replace him.
They argued that since Atiku Abubakar, the party’s candidate for that election, is from the same region as Ayu, it was right for the Benue-born to step aside.
But after the election, which was won by Tinubu, Wike’s relationship with Makinde has deteriorated.
In fact, the PDP held its convention a few months back in Oyo and suspended Wike and other high-ranking members of the party, such as ex-governor Ayodele Fayose.
The group, which enjoys Makinde’s backing, accused the former Rivers governor of anti-party activities.
Despite the move, Wike has insisted he remains a member of the PDP and has repeatedly said he would back Tinubu in the next presidential election.
Makinde is currently a second term governor, whose tenure will terminate in less than two years.
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