Some individuals have begun the campaign for Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The campaign, according to findings by Saturday PUNCH, is driven by a group known as ‘Progressive Youth for Makinde Presidency 2027’ in Ibadan.
While the All Progressives Congress described those driving the campaign as clowns who lacked the wherewithal to drive such ambition, the spokesperson for the governor, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, declined to comment on the matter.
But the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State described the campaign by the individuals as ‘assumption’, saying Makinde had not told anyone that he was contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Saturday PUNCH notes that the individuals started the 2027 presidential campaign for Makinde in June this year.
They have also taken their campaign to the social media with the creation of a facebook and an X account ‘Makinde for President 2027’.
The facebook account was created on June 17, while the X account was opened on June 3.
One of the Makinde’s supporters on the facebook account, Olamilekan Kehinde, stated that the Oyo State governor was fit for the presidency than President Bola Tinubu.
“Governor Seyi Makinde has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and a commitment to good governance, making him fit for the presidency of Nigeria compared to the current President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu”, said Kehinde.
An indigene of Ibadan known as “Otunba @ManLikeIcey” on his X handle had on January 15, 2024 also declared that Makinde would contest the presidency in 2027.
Saturday PUNCH which has been observing the contents on the X handle for over a month noted that the handlers of the account did mention the governor on his verified X handle in some of their tweets.
In a tweet on Thursday, July 11, the handlers of the account mentioned Makinde in a tweet titled ‘2027: Why Governor Makinde is a better choice for Nigerians to President Bola Tinubu’.
The ‘Makinde for President 2027’ has also been retweeting and liking the governor’s tweet since creation.
However, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Michael Ogunsina, said Makinde had not discussed anything concerning 2027 presidential ambition with anyone.
But, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Oyo State, Wasiu Sadare, said Makinde had the constitutional right to contest for the president.
Sadare said, “We can only wish him the best of luck since it is within his right to aspire to be President. The PDP has always lacked ideal candidates and we would not be surprised if their best presidential candidate for 2027 is Governor Makinde.
“We cannot wait for him to kick off his mobilisation efforts and it is then we would expose him to the whole world. As it stands now, we see those behind the project as clowns who lack the wherewithal to drive such ambition.”
PUNCH
