2027: Dump Presidential Bid, Join Tinubu’s APC, Minister Woos Makinde
2027: Dump Presidential Bid, Join Tinubu’s APC, Minister Woos Makinde
Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, has openly invited Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to dump the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in what could further intensify political manoeuvring ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Goronyo made the appeal on Monday during the flag-off of the dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu Road, urging Makinde to align Oyo State with the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Makinde, who is seeking to contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the APM, was absent from the ceremony.
President Tinubu was represented at the event by Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun.
Addressing dignitaries at the ceremony, Goronyo praised Abiodun for what he described as his contributions to the development of Ogun State and the wider South-West, insisting that the APC-led Federal Government was accelerating infrastructure development across the country.
“The central train of development is moving fast under our progressive banner,” the minister said.
He then turned his attention to Makinde, extending an open invitation to the Oyo governor to join the ruling party.
“I therefore warmly welcome and openly invite His Excellency the Governor of Oyo State, Mr Engineer Seyi Makinde, to take the natural giant step into the All Progressives Congress, the APC,” Goronyo said.
“Come and align Oyo State fully with the centre under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The invitation comes at a politically sensitive period for Makinde, whose name has increasingly featured in calculations surrounding the 2027 presidential contest.
The Oyo governor is currently pursuing a presidential ambition on the APM platform as political parties and influential blocs intensify negotiations, endorsements and realignments ahead of the election.
Goronyo’s public appeal therefore goes beyond a routine call for political cooperation, potentially adding another dimension to the contest for influential political figures ahead of 2027.
The remarks were made against the backdrop of the commencement of the Ibadan-Ijebu Road dualisation project, a strategic infrastructure intervention expected to strengthen transportation links between Oyo and Ogun states.
The road provides an important connection between Ibadan and communities in Ogun State and is considered significant to economic and commercial activities along the corridor.
Federal and state officials as well as traditional rulers attended the flag-off ceremony.
Among those present were the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rasheed Ladoja; Ogun State Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele; and the APC governorship candidate in Oyo State, Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli.
The political message from the ceremony was, however, unmistakable, with Goronyo portraying membership of the ruling APC as an opportunity for Oyo State to establish closer political alignment with the Federal Government.
Whether Makinde will entertain the invitation remains unclear, particularly as his presidential ambition places him on a potential collision course with Tinubu in 2027.
As political calculations gather momentum nationwide, the minister’s public overture has added another layer to the emerging battle for alliances, defections and strategic positioning ahead of a presidential election increasingly shaping Nigeria’s political landscape.
