The presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has urged voters in the South-East not to allow ethnic and religious considerations to influence their choices in the 2027 general election.

Makinde made the appeal at the APM South-East town hall meeting in Enugu, monitored by our correspondent, where he stressed that Nigeria’s challenges affect citizens regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations.

In the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, then the Labour Party candidate, won across the South-East states, emerging as the leading contender in the region, which is predominantly inhabited by the Igbo.

With less than three months to the January 16, 2027 presidential election, Obi, now the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, continues to enjoy support among his kinsmen in the South-East.

Reacting, Makinde urged Nigerians to reject political divisions along ethnic and religious lines, stressing that the challenges facing the country affect citizens regardless of their tribe or religious beliefs.

He stated, “Our reset agenda has four major pillars: resetting the economy, restructuring our security architecture, reforming the education system, and resetting the socio-political space.

“When we were coming here, we were almost discouraged. People told us, ‘This is the zone of my friend and brother, His Excellency Peter Obi. The entire South-East is firmly behind him.’ But we said that we would not be deterred. We would bring our message to the South-East and give the people an opportunity to hear what we have to offer.

“My message to you today is this: Please reject all forms of division along religious or ethnic lines. The challenges we face do not discriminate based on religion or ethnicity.

“What we must do is create opportunities for our people, particularly our teeming youth, so that we can tackle hunger, address grinding poverty and move our people from poverty to prosperity.”

The APM presidential candidate said his campaign team had consulted Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones to understand their concerns and incorporate their expectations into the party’s policy agenda.

He said the party would finalise its manifesto over the weekend ahead of its unveiling on November 4, 2026, adding that the document would outline proposed solutions to the challenges raised during the town hall meetings.

Makinde continued, “Of course, every country faces challenges. There is no doubt about that. However, I believe that 30 per cent of these challenges can be resolved simply by demonstrating sincerity.

“When we confront these problems with honesty and sincerity, 30 per cent of them will disappear on their own. We will therefore work to bridge the trust deficit between leaders and citizens.

“I experienced this challenge in Oyo State before I became governor. Whenever the government announced plans to do something, citizens would sneer and say, ‘We have heard this before.’

“However, that has changed. We have succeeded in bridging the trust deficit between the government and the people in Oyo State. Having achieved this in Oyo State, we will, by the grace of God, replicate that success in Nigeria.”

Makinde said his administration would prioritise job creation and economic expansion by moving Nigeria away from dependence on the sharing of federal allocations towards a productive economy capable of generating sustainable wealth and employment opportunities.

He disclosed that his campaign had partnered with Skill Reset Nigeria to train one million young Nigerians in skills that could improve their employability, urging interested youths to register through SkillReset.com to benefit from the initiative.

He added, “We are told that Nigeria has substantial foreign reserves and that the Nigerian Revenue Service has collected enough tax revenue, even surpassing its target for the year. Yet, despite these claims, the government still has to borrow money. How does that add up?

“One indication of an expanding economy is the availability of long-term financing. Right now, bankers can tell you that what we have are mainly short-term credit facilities intended for trading.

“You cannot expand manufacturing when businesses face interest rates of 25 per cent and cannot access long-term financing. These are two challenges we will address decisively.

“We will tackle youth unemployment by encouraging entrepreneurship because entrepreneurs are the ones who can create sustainable jobs. That is exactly what we will do. We will create a conducive business environment across the country to enable businesses to thrive.”

The vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, said Nigeria must address widespread hunger, deprivation and insecurity, warning that democracy could not thrive where politics was militarised and security politicised.

Daura said he and the party’s presidential candidate were committed to ending Nigerians’ suffering through their proposed 16-point agenda, adding that the country needed selfless and competent leadership.

He stated, “The solution to Nigeria’s many problems lies in addressing the challenges confronting our country today. We are well travelled and have lived in different places. We have seen and experienced life not only in Europe but also across Africa. We understand the challenges Nigerians are facing, and we know that no nation can continue to endure widespread hunger and deprivation.

“Of course, democracy cannot thrive in an environment where politics is militarised, and security is politicised. We must confront these crises and challenges if Nigeria is to achieve its noble objectives, as enshrined in our Constitution and reflected in our national anthem, which we sing whenever we gather.

“Please note that the Nigerian people deserve leadership that is committed to addressing their challenges. The presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, and I are determined to undertake this mission.

“We are not actors, nor are we here to experiment with the future of our country. We are ‘Resetters’ here to reform the system and make it work for the people.”

In his remarks, APM National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, called on President Bola Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and allow the party’s candidate, Makinde, to complete the remaining four years of the South’s turn in power, describing the move as the right thing to do.

He stated, “This is a very simple message. We are all Nigerians, and I am very sure that every Nigerian is aware that this country has never had it this bad. What is happening today is a source of concern for all of us.

“Every successful economy is driven by the private sector. I am a farmer, and I believe the most important requirement for any government to succeed is energy. Without a reliable energy supply, transportation also becomes a major challenge. How, then, can we move forward?”

Dantalle said Nigeria’s insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping and Boko Haram insurgency, was rooted in underlying socioeconomic problems, stressing the need to address the factors driving crime and violence.

He continued. “Your Excellency, I have an appeal to make to the President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As a Muslim, there is a verse that says, Al-jazā’u al-ihsāni illā al-ihsān—the reward for goodness is goodness.

“In 2023, Oyo State governor considered President Tinubu worthy of support and gave him his backing to become President. We have seen the outcome.

“Today, we are calling on President Tinubu to support a new direction and step aside, withdraw from the 2027 race to allow Makinde to complete the remaining four years Southern term. This is the right thing for President Tinubu to do.

“It is time for leadership to return to the youth. We need a youthful, active and politically tested leader who understands the ordinary Nigerian.”

The town hall meeting was attended by former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Director-General of the Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation, Felix Hassan Hyat; APM state chairmen; and leaders of other support groups from the South-East.

Meanwhile, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation has urged Tinubu to use his Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca for soul-searching, seek Allah’s forgiveness over his administration’s record and withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.

The organisation made the call in a statement issued on Thursday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, urging Tinubu to reflect on his unfulfilled campaign promises, worsening insecurity and the economic hardship facing Nigerians since he assumed office in May 2023.

Tinubu departed Abuja for Makkah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday to perform Umrah, an Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city.

The President’s aircraft, an Airbus A330-200, took off at 2:20 pm local time, following an earlier announcement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Reacting, the APM urged the President to acknowledge before Allah that his administration’s policies had subjected Nigerians to an endless struggle for survival.

“The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his lesser Hajj in Mecca for sober reflection on the devastation his corrupt, insensitive and clueless administration has caused the nation in the last three and a half years.

“President Tinubu should, upon arrival at the Holy Land, shed all presidential grandstanding and show true contrition for his misgovernance, the worsening insecurity, crushing hardship and widespread misery his policies have inflicted on Nigerians.

“Let the President confess before Almighty Allah his misrule that has condemned Nigerians to an endless struggle for survival. As a people of faith, we hold that no office, however exalted, places its occupant above the imperatives of conscience, accountability and truth.

“We therefore counsel the President to place before his conscience his unfulfilled 2023 campaign promises, the oath of office he swore, the obligations it imposed on him and his administration’s record since May 2023.”

It challenged Tinubu to view Nigeria as a private enterprise entrusted to a manager, asking whether, given the mounting hardship, hunger, disease, persistent insecurity and public despair over the past three and a half years, he would reward such a manager with another contract or dismiss him.

“The answer is clear. Such a manager cannot be entrusted with another mandate. The future of Nigeria must not be placed in the hands of a leader whose record of governance speaks to a manifest incapacity to continue in office,” the council said.