*Defends Challenging Tinubu From South-West, Says Obasanjo And Falae Contested In 1999 And Heaven Did Not Fall
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Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has challenged Nigerians to consider the energy, stamina and physical capacity of candidates seeking the presidency in the 2027 election.
Makinde spoke on Thursday at the South-West town hall meeting of the Makinde/Daura Campaign Organisation held in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The governor said he would not make age an issue in the presidential contest, but maintained that Nigerians should examine whether candidates possess the energy required to cope with the demands of the office.
To emphasise his point, Makinde jumped off the stage and challenged other presidential candidates to demonstrate similar physical ability.
“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 also defended his decision to contest the presidency despite President Bola Tinubu, who is also from the South-West, seeking re-election.
He dismissed suggestions that another candidate from the region should not challenge Tinubu, arguing that history had shown that more than one candidate from the South-West could contest the presidency without creating a political crisis.
“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,” Makinde said.
He 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.
“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 urged voters in the region to reject what he described as the “politics of deceit” and also criticised the Tinubu administration over what he described as wasteful use of taxpayers’ money.
He specifically questioned the decision of Jimoh Ibrahim, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, to travel from New York to Abuja to present the UN budget to President Tinubu.
Makinde argued that the trip was unnecessary, while also questioning what he described as a lack of clarity over the federal budget currently being implemented by the administration.
“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.
“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.’”
Makinde maintained that the 2027 presidential contest should not be framed around regional entitlement but around the quality, capacity and readiness of the candidates seeking to lead the country.
His remarks also sought to counter arguments that President Tinubu should enjoy an uncontested South-West political base simply because he is from the region, with Makinde insisting that the 1999 election demonstrated that the region could present multiple presidential candidates for Nigerians to choose from.
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