Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has revealed how he declined a request by President Bola Tinubu to help coordinate the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, citing his loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Makinde made the disclosure during a media chat on Tuesday in Ibadan, the state capital.
He said the issue came up after earlier engagements with Tinubu on the nomination of a minister from Oyo State following the formation of the federal cabinet.
According to him, the president turned to him with a direct appeal.
“He said ‘Seyi, it’s you that I want to help me organise APC in Oyo State,” Makinde revealed.
Makinde said he flatly rejected the request, insisting that he could not act against his party.
“I told him ‘no sir, I cannot help you organise APC in Oyo State because I am of the PDP’,” he said.
The governor also said he was present at a meeting where Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, openly declared his intention to support President Tinubu politically in 2027.
“I was in a meeting with the president and Wike. I’m saying this in an open chat. The president’s chief of staff was also in that meeting and few others, and Wike said to the president that, ‘well, sir, I will hold PDP for you against 2027’,” Makinde said.
He said the comment left him stunned.
“I was in shock. So we got up, we got to the verandah and I said, ‘Wike did we agree to this?’” he added.
Makinde stressed that while Wike has the right to support President Tinubu, he would not be part of any arrangement that weakens the opposition or threatens Nigeria’s democratic space.
“The real issue is that Wike would like to support the president for 2027. That’s fine. It is within his right to do that. But also some of us that want to ensure that democracy survives in Nigeria, we don’t drift into a one party state and we want to ensure that PDP survives. He should also allow us to do our own thing,” he said.