2027: I’m Qualified To Contest For President — Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has stated that he is qualified to run for Nigeria’s office of the president, while expressing regret for supporting President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 elections, noting the challenges facing the country’s democracy.

Makinde made the declaration on Tuesday at the Government House in Ibadan during a media chat, where he spoke about his past support for President Tinubu, his professional and political experience, and his thoughts on the nation’s future ahead of the 2027 elections.

Addressing speculations about his next political move, Makinde emphasised his qualifications to serve at the highest level.

“I have heard people saying, ‘Is Seyi trying to position himself for president’, to serve this country at the highest level. I am qualified,” he declared.

“I made a mistake, I supported the current president even in another party at that time because I thought he would do what is right for the country and bring people who can help the country, and I regret that action,” Makinde said.

Acknowledging his own fallibility, he stressed, “I am not above mistake.”

He noted that some advisors have counselled him to wait until after his tenure as governor before considering a presidential run.

“People tell me to just stay low and wait till after my tenure as president, and even after 8 years, I will be 67. I can contest, but I say to them, ‘What are we afraid of? Death?’ Even if you’re afraid of death, you will still die,” he said.
The governor emphasised the importance of combining professional and political experience in preparing for national leadership.

“Even the present president, what brought him to the presidency is that he was a governor of Lagos State. By May 2027, I would have been a two-term governor of Oyo State. Professionally, I ran a company at the young age of 29,” he said, citing his early success in business as part of his leadership credentials.

Makinde clarified, however, that he is not currently fixated on whether he will run, emphasising the need to evaluate the political environment and the broader survival of democracy.

“Right now, I am not fixated on running or not running. If I correctly recalibrate the environment, then we need to go beyond PDP and talk about the survival of democracy,” he said.

He concluded with a reflection on the unpredictability of Nigeria’s political landscape in 2027.

“What Nigerians will show elites and political figures in 2027, we cannot imagine it right now,” Makinde said.