Makinde berates APC-led FG for expanding army divisions to 12 without budgetary provisions

• Accuses Tinubu of running voodoos economy

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Engr Seyi Makinde has faulted the All Progressives Congress (APC-led federal government for expanding army divisions to 12 without necessary budgetary provisions.

Makinde has similarly accused the President Tinubu’s administration of running what he called “voodoo economy”.

The APM presidential flag bearer, who is the Governor of Oyo State, said these on Monday while addressing the party’s supporters at its North Central Town Hall Meeting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

In the words of the APM presidential candidate, “They (APC-led Federal Government) expanded army divisions to 12. I was looking at the budget for 2026. I was looking for the item in that budget relating to the expansion of those army divisions. I did not see it.

“If they have it in the budget that they prepared for 2026, let them bring it out.

“So, you cannot just wake up and say, well, without any plan, I am setting up or expanding army divisions to tackle insecurity. There has to be a lot of planning that will go into this”, he said.

Continuing, Engr Makinde said, “For us in Oyo State, when I came in in 2019, the state’s dependence on federal allocation was about 80-plus per cent. We worked really hard to bring it down. And you can go check the data.

“By 2022, we had gone down to 65 per cent in terms of our dependence on federal allocation.

“Then, by 2023, when they came on board with their voodoo economy, the resultant effect is that today Oyo State is back to almost 80 per cent dependence on federal allocation. That is their voodoo economy.

“Yes, they claim we have more money, that is, the state governments.The state governments were collecting more money from the Federation Account. I am not arguing with that.

“Yes, in terms of the totality of the money, yes, we have more money, but has it translated to fighting hunger in our society? The answer is no”, he declared.

The APM presidential candidate reiterated his earlier position that next year’s election will be determined solely by the people of Nigeria and not by any other consideration.

His words, “This 2027 election will not be determined by politics, by pollsters, or by the number of multimillionaires in your party. This election is not going to be determined by the number of millionaires you have in your corner, or how many billions you have to spend. This election will be determined by the people of Nigeria”.

He made it pointedly clear that a lot of energy is needed to be able to serve and govern Nigerians effectively, adding, “Makinde has the energy to Reset Nigeria”.

Also speaking at the meeting, the vice presidential candidate of the APM, Alhaji Lawal Isa Daura said, “Ours is politics with sincerity, politics with honesty, politics with commitment, politics with dedication and politics with focus. It is not politics built on lies or deceit.

“We are Nigerians. We have suffered enough. At least for now, we need to have a change for the better. And that is why, when His Excellency, Engineer Seyi Makinde, came up with the idea of resetting Nigeria, some of us quickly bought into that idea, because without resetting Nigeria, how do you expect most of the things that have been done in the past to help?

“We want to see a positive change that can be authentically pointed out. Therefore, we want to be very, very serious, and we want to be taken seriously.

“Enough, as I used to say, is enough. Nigerians have paid their dues. Nigerians have given tremendous support to various governments, but Nigerians have not gotten a fair deal because poverty, insecurity and so many other social ills have continued to bedevil the nation by the day”, Daura, a former Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) declared.

The Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, on his part, declared that the

North Central is very strategic and instrumental to the unity and progress of this country, adding, “We are the bridge region between the South and the North, and we have a lot to do to fix Nigeria”.

Continuing, he said, “Successive and current administrations of Nigeria might be doing their best, but their best is not enough. It is not translating into development.

“For that reason, we can’t continue to do the same thing and expect different results. If we must get different results, we have to do something different.

“We have to work with those who have been tested and have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they have the wherewithal and capability to take Nigeria to the next level”, he said.