2027: Nigeria needs young, energetic, vibrant President, Makinde, Mohammed declare

• Optimistic APM will forthcoming general election

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement, APM, Engr Seyi Makinde has declared, confidently, that the party will win the forthcoming 2027 election, stressing that Nigeria needs a young, energetic and vibrant president at the moment.

Makinde similarly predicted that the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed will emerge as the incoming Senate President come next year.

The APM presidential flag bearer and Governor of Oyo State, made the projection on Thursday while addressing the party’s members and supporters at its South West Town Hall meeting held in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Makinde further pointed out that Nigeria doesn’t want turn-by-turn President of nepotism.

According to him, “APM will win the 2027 election, and the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, is the incoming Senate President”

Continuing, he said, “Well, I don’t want to focus on age. I want to say that this campaign and government will require energy, the ability to stay up late, endure the rigours and confront the challenges facing our country.

“So, please, when they bring their presidential candidate, let the candidate come here and jump around as well. If they can do that, vote for them.

“We are in the South-West. The South-West zone of Nigeria has always been at the forefront of the struggle for a better country.

“I have listened to people who have asked us: Seyi, why are you contesting in this election when the South-West already has somebody occupying that seat?

“I have explained to them that we have a precedent here in the South-West. In 1999, when the entire country ceded the presidency to the South-West, we had two of our fathers, Baba President Olusegun Obasanjo and Baba Olu Falae, contesting for the presidency. Both were from the South-West, and heaven did not fall.

“As a matter of fact, what the South-West did was to present two of its finest candidates, two of its best, for Nigerians to choose from. Is there anything wrong with doing that this time around?

“If you cast your mind back to 1999, the people of the South-West voted massively for Baba Olu Falae. But the rest of Nigeria voted for Baba Obasanjo.

“So, this is not an issue that the South-West can solve alone. Nigeria’s problems are issues we can collectively address.

“We do not want turn-by-turn nepotism. We also do not want a situation where someone says, ‘I will execute projects in my zone because it is my turn’. The projects will remain unfinished, and when it is someone else’s turn, they will do the same thing.

“Those projects will also remain unfinished. Ultimately, we will end up with a Nigeria that cannot derive value from its resources.

“The Reset Nigeria agenda is about building a country whose infrastructural development will support and drive economic growth, enabling us to address the concerns raised by our youths and women.

“So, please, South-West, let this region become the home of a new rebirth for Nigeria. We want to reset Nigeria. South-West zone of Nigeria, are you ready? Together, we will reset Nigeria”, Makinde said.

Also speaking at the event, the APM National Leader and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed said that although the party is young but it is driven by knowledge and by plans.

In the words of Bala Mohammed, “As a party, we are young, and we have a young presidential candidate. We are young, but we are not young upstairs. We are driven by knowledge. We are driven by plans. We know where we are coming from, where we want to go and how we intend to get there.

“That is the secret of research, and that is the secret behind the choice of our presidential candidate. He embodies a lot of hope and capacity.

“Makinde is a tested and trusted person who has demonstrated his ability at the sub-national level, and we had no problem presenting him as our candidate.

“He understands Nigeria’s problems, particularly in infrastructure and public services.

“He has demonstrated his capacity to deliver by reducing infrastructure gaps at the sub-national level in one of the largest states in the federation.

“He has also chosen a running mate who can help address the challenges facing a substantial portion of the federation that is grappling with insecurity. He is a security expert, tested and reputed for his knowledge in that field”, he declared.