Makinde at Presidential Villa as PDP Rift Deepens
ABUJA – Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde met with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa on Wednesday, highlighting ongoing tensions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the 2027 elections.
Makinde arrived shortly after Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who recently defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), and proceeded directly to the president’s office.
Background of the G5 Governors and PDP Tensions
Makinde was a member of the G5, a group of five PDP governors who opposed the 2023 PDP presidential candidacy of Atiku Abubakar and publicly supported Tinubu in that election. The G5 also included Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia. The group had argued that, according to PDP’s rotational arrangement, the South should produce the next president following Muhammadu Buhari’s two terms.
However, Makinde’s relationship with Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has strained. Makinde told reporters the rift began when Wike allegedly told President Tinubu that Makinde would “hold PDP” for him ahead of the 2027 election, a statement Makinde said was made without the consent of other party stakeholders.
Makinde Affirms Political Independence
Speaking on the issue, Makinde said: “I was in a meeting with the President and Wike and a few others, and Wike said to the President that I will hold PDP for you against 2027. So, we got up, and I asked Wike, did we agree to this?”
He clarified that while Wike is entitled to support Tinubu’s re-election bid, other PDP members have the right to protect the party and maintain democratic pluralism. “The real issue is that Wike would like to support the President in 2027, that’s fine, it’s within his right to do that. But also some of us that want democracy to survive in Nigeria, we don’t drift into a one-party state, and we want to ensure that PDP survives,” Makinde said.
Makinde added that the president did not request Wike’s commitment on his behalf. “The President did not ask him; he was the one who volunteered that I would do this,” he noted, adding that efforts to persuade Wike to reconsider were unsuccessful.
He concluded by affirming his independence in political decision-making ahead of 2027: “Wike can support him; it is within his right, but it is also within my right within the political space to determine who I will support or what I will do in 2027.”
At the time of filing this report, the specific agenda of Makinde’s meeting with Tinubu was not disclosed.
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