Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate Seyi Makinde has challenged Nigerians to assess the physical energy and stamina of candidates seeking to lead the country in the 2027 general election.
Makinde spoke on Thursday at the South-West town hall meeting of the Makinde/Daura campaign organisation in Akure, Ondo State, where he said he would focus on candidates’ physical capacity to handle the demands of the presidency rather than make age a major issue.
To demonstrate his point, the governor jumped off the stage and challenged other presidential candidates to perform the same feat.
“When they bring their presidential candidate, let the candidate come here and also jump down,” he said.
“If they can do that, vote for them.”
Makinde Defends Presidential Ambition Despite Tinubu’s Candidacy
The governor also defended his decision to contest the presidency despite President Bola Tinubu, who is also from the South-West, seeking re-election in 2027.
Makinde argued that the presence of a presidential candidate from a particular geopolitical zone should not prevent other qualified contenders from the same region from seeking the country’s highest office.
“I’ve listened to people who asked us why we are contesting in this election when the south-west already has somebody sitting on that seat, and I’ve explained to them that we have an example here in the south-west,” he said.
To support his position, Makinde cited the 1999 presidential election, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae, both from the South-West, contested against each other.
“In 1999, the entire Nigeria ceded the presidency to the South-West, and we had two of our fathers, Baba President Obasanjo and Baba Olu Falae, contest the presidency, both from the south-west. And heaven did not fall,” he said.
He argued that presenting multiple candidates from the same region gave Nigerians the opportunity to choose between competing options.
“As a matter of fact, what the south-west did was to present two of its finest, two of its best, for Nigeria to choose from. Is there anything wrong with us this time around?” Makinde asked.
Governor Accuses Tinubu Administration of Wasting Public Funds
Makinde also called on people in the South-West to reject what he described as the politics of deceit, accusing the Tinubu administration of wasting taxpayers’ money.
He specifically criticised Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, over his trip from New York to Abuja to present the UN budget to President Tinubu.
The governor questioned the necessity of the journey, arguing that the Federal Government had yet to clearly establish which national budget it was implementing.
“Well, they can waste the taxpayers’ money, but I refuse to agree that you must use the taxpayers’ money to fly from New York to Abuja to present the UN budget when, indeed, this is an administration where, right now, we don’t know which budget they are operating on for Nigeria,” he said.
Makinde further questioned whether the government was operating under the 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 national budget.
“Is it the 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 budget? And then they are coming with the UN budget to say, ‘Look, this is the UN budget,’” he added.
The governor’s remarks come as political activities and discussions over potential candidates gather momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
