Atiku wanted me as running mate in 2023 – Makinde

Sekinat Osundiji Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has revealed that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar approached him to be his running mate in the 2023 presidential election, but he declined the offer because he considered himself inexperienced in public service at the time. Makinde disclosed this during an interview on ARISE News, where he spoke about his political journey, his relationship with members of the G5 governors, the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his political ambitions.

The governor said he was approached to run alongside Atiku but turned down the offer, explaining that he had only spent three years in office as governor of Oyo State. He said, “Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his people approached me to run with him. I basically told them that I had only spent three years as governor of Oyo State and three years in public service.

I felt it was not enough to make such a decision, so I told them to look for someone else.” Speaking on the G5 governors’ decision to oppose Atiku’s presidential ambition in 2023, Makinde said he was the only member of the group who had since left the PDP. He also defended the decision by his faction to expel former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike from the party, saying it was necessary after Wike declared his intention to hold the PDP for President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde said the decision was aimed at allowing the party to participate in the election, even if it meant going to the polls with a weakened structure. He, however, expressed concern over the state of Nigeria’s democracy, questioning why political parties were still dealing with the nullification of candidates less than 80 days before a national election.

“Why? What kind of democracy is that?” he asked. Reacting to allegations by the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he had abandoned governance to pursue his political campaign, Makinde defended his activities outside the state. He argued that if the President could travel around the country for political activities, governors should also be allowed to take their messages to Nigerians.

Makinde maintained that governance in Oyo State had continued despite his political engagements, citing his presentation of the 2027 budget estimates to the State House of Assembly and his state-of-the-state address. “Oyo State is moving on. We have robust institutions, and I am not outside the country,” he said. On his preferred successor, Bimbo Adekanbi, Makinde dismissed suggestions that his support for the former commissioner made him a political godfather.

He explained that Adekanbi emerged through a consensus process which he supported, but insisted that his successor should be allowed to establish his own political identity. “I have told him severally, ‘Bimbo, don’t inherit my enemies or opponents. Chart your own path.’ I am interested in good governance,” he said. The governor also ruled out becoming a political godfather, insisting that his background in the private sector had shaped his approach to public service.

“I came from a private background. This is my first public service job, and I enjoyed my life as a private person. Actually, I am a very shy and private person,” he added. On his security agenda, Makinde identified decentralised decision-making and state police as key components of his proposed reset agenda. He argued that security decisions should be closer to the people and that states should be allowed to adopt approaches suited to their individual circumstances rather than implementing a uniform arrangement across the country.

According to him, the implementation of state policing should take into consideration concerns that it could be used as a tool of oppression at the grassroots. He also cited the kidnapping of school children and teachers in Oyo State and Borno State as an example of why states needed different approaches to security challenges. Makinde recalled that Oyo State had secured the release of its abducted pupils and teachers, although the incident resulted in casualties.

Addressing his earlier call for the United Nations to investigate the kidnapping, Makinde said he made the request because the circumstances surrounding the incident were unusual and should not be treated as normal. He disclosed that his administration had established a judicial panel of inquiry, which had submitted its report, adding that a white paper on its findings would be released within the week.