Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has justified why residents of the state voted Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The governor said he is happy to be part of the process that “redrew the electoral map of Nigeria.”
Makinde is part of the G5, a group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors who refused to support and campaign for Atiku Abubakar, their party’s flagbearer, over calls for the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as the PDP national chairman.
Recall that Tinubu, president-elect, polled 449, 884 votes in the presidential election in Oyo state to defeat Atiku who polled 182, 977 votes.
“I supported fairness, justice and equity. I supported a united Nigeria, a Nigeria that gives opportunity to every part of this country,” Governor Makinde said.
When asked if the candidate he is referring to is Tinubu, Makinde replied, “well, if you say so”.
Three of the G5 governors.. Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu had lost their senatorial bids during Saturday’s poll.
When asked if he will also “pay the price” with his re-election bid, Governor Makinde said he would choose to do what is right over his political interests.
The governor, however, expressed confidence that he will win the governorship poll while appealing to the people of the state to vote the PDP in all positions.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State has denied having a standing agreement with the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, as erroneously believed in some quarters.
A member of the APC presidential campaign council in the state, Nike Ajagbe, who stated this in a chat with journalists in Ibadan, on Wednesday, said the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, was a party man, who cannot joke with the success of APC across the country, especially the South-West which he regarded as his stronghold.
Ajagbe explained that it was in the programme of the campaign committee to visit all the opposition governors whenever they are in their states for campaign, hence nobody should see it as endorsement but a privilege to host a widely accepted presidential candidate.
While citing Rivers State and others where Tinubu visited their Government Houses before proceeding on campaign grounds, Ajagbe said she was part of the visit of the president-elect to Makinde and no agreement was between the campaign team and Makinde.
