Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said that he regretted supporting President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, saying the decision did not produce the outcome he had hoped for.
He made this known on Tuesday while speaking with journalists at the Government House in Ibadan, the state capital.
Makinde was one of the G5 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Governors who worked against their party’s presidential flag bearer Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 election because it was the turn of a southerner and not a northerner after President Muhammadu Buhati.
Makinde said his decision to back Tinubu, who was then the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, was based on the belief that he would act in the national interest if elected.
His words, “I said it earlier, I’m human. I supported the current president, even though in another party at that time, because I thought we’ll do what is right for the country.”
The governor added that he believed the president would reset the country and bring together competent individuals from across Nigeria to address the nation’s challenges. “But unfortunately, that is not what we’re seeing. I regret that action. Yes, I do,” the governor lamented.
Disclosing the reason behind his political disagreement with the FCT minister, Wike, Makinde said that the rift between Wike and him began after the minister told Tinubu during a meeting that he would hold PDP for the President ahead of the 2027 election, a statement he said without the consent of others.
“I was in a meeting with the President and Wike and a few others, and Wike said to the President that he would hold PDP for him against 2027. So, we got up, and I asked Wike, did we agree to this?”
Makinde noted that while Wike is entitled to support Tinubu’s re-election bid, other members of the party also have the right to protect the PDP and oppose any move that could weaken democratic pluralism.
