Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, Seyi Makinde, has explained why he is currently working to unite opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Makinde said his efforts were aimed at getting opposition parties to engage in discussions and consider what he described as the best interest of Nigeria through a government of national unity.
The former governor of Oyo State disclosed that his decision to support President Bola Tinubu in 2023 was based on an agreement to establish a government of national unity, which he claimed the president failed to honour.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, Makinde said he still had a copy of the agreement signed before the 2023 presidential election.
He explained that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State signed the document on behalf of Tinubu, while he signed on behalf of the G5 governors.
According to him, the document was subsequently presented to Tinubu, who allegedly approved the agreement and asked them to proceed.
“Actually, in 2023, for me to support the president, we agreed on a government of national unity, and I thought he was going to do it. I thought they were going to do it. I have, I still have the agreement with us,” Makinde said.
He added:
“Governor of Lagos signed on his behalf. I signed on behalf of the G5, and after signing, we went to him and gave him the document to say, ‘Look, this is what Babajide Sanwo-Olu signed on your behalf. Are you happy with it?’ And he said, ‘Yes, please go ahead.'”
Makinde maintained that his current engagement with opposition leaders was informed by the need to build a political arrangement that would prioritise the country’s interests.
“I’m involved right now in getting the oppositions, you know, to start talking, to start looking at what is the best interest of the country, and that is why we said a government of national unity,” he said.