Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has intensified his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, arguing that rising poverty, insecurity and economic hardship should determine whether the President deserves another term in office.
Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), made the remarks as his Presidential Campaign Organisation called on Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, accusing him of failing to deliver on his campaign promises.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the campaign organisation’s Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, criticised the President’s indication that he might not join the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign team on its nationwide tour ahead of the 2027 elections.
Tinubu had said on Wednesday that he intended to concentrate on governance rather than accompany the campaign team across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
However, Makinde’s campaign organisation argued that the President should be prepared to defend his record before Nigerians if he believed his administration had performed well.
It also alleged that Tinubu’s decision to stay away from nationwide campaign rallies reflected concerns about public dissatisfaction with his administration.
“The decision not only constitutes a serious affront to the Nigerian electorate, but also makes a caricature of democratic ethos,” the statement said.
The campaign organisation further accused the President of failing to fulfil promises on electricity, economic recovery and national security.
It alleged that electricity supply had deteriorated while tariffs increased, adding that the removal of petrol subsidy and the foreign exchange reforms had imposed severe hardship on households without adequate protection for vulnerable citizens.
The group also criticised the administration’s handling of insecurity, citing attacks by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal groups.
According to the organisation, the combination of economic difficulties and security challenges should compel the President to account for his performance before seeking another mandate.
“If President Tinubu is so fatigued that he cannot go round the country to canvass for votes, then he should withdraw from the race,” the statement added.
The campaign organisation contrasted Tinubu’s approach with Makinde’s political activities, describing the Oyo governor as an energetic candidate with a record of engaging voters and presenting his policy proposals.
Makinde also used a newsletter released on Thursday to argue that the success of economic reforms should be measured by their effects on ordinary citizens rather than improvements in economic indicators alone.
Although he acknowledged that the removal of petrol subsidy and the adoption of a more flexible foreign exchange regime were supported by economic arguments, he insisted that the consequences for households must remain central to evaluating government policies.
“Policies tell you what a government wants to change. The order in which it chooses to make those changes tells you how that government thinks,” he said.
The governor maintained that leadership involved making difficult choices about public spending while ensuring that vulnerable groups did not bear a disproportionate share of the burden.
Using his administration in Oyo State as an example, Makinde said his government prioritised the payment of workers’ salaries, pensions and inherited gratuity arrears while continuing to invest in infrastructure.
He explained that the state’s development strategy focused on the economy, education, healthcare and security, with efforts made to balance recurrent obligations with capital expenditure.
Makinde said personnel costs accounted for about 70 per cent of Oyo State’s federal receipts during the four years under review, forcing his administration to explore alternative funding arrangements for infrastructure projects.
One of the mechanisms he cited was the Alternative Project Funding Approach, through which contractors financed selected projects upfront before receiving repayment from the state government over an agreed period.
According to him, the approach enabled the government to meet its obligations to workers and pensioners while pursuing infrastructure development.
“We could have said government needed the money for infrastructure and asked workers and pensioners to wait. Instead of choosing between paying people and building infrastructure, we chose to do both,” he said.
Turning to the Federal Government’s economic reforms, Makinde argued that improved macroeconomic stability would have limited value if it failed to translate into better living conditions for Nigerians.
“Reform is not only about fixing the numbers. It is also about how people survive the transition,” he said.
The governor claimed that Nigeria’s poverty rate had increased from approximately 56 per cent in 2023 to about 62 per cent in 2026, representing an additional 23 million people living in poverty.
He argued that although the Federal Government had cited assessments by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund pointing to improvements in macroeconomic stability, many Nigerians were yet to experience corresponding gains in employment, purchasing power and living standards.
“Macroeconomic stability has not translated at the same pace into jobs, lower poverty and improved living standards for the majority of Nigerians,” he said.
Makinde maintained that Nigerians had the right to assess the performance of the current administration and consider an alternative in 2027 if they believed the government had failed to meet their expectations.
“And if, after four years, a leader has not been able to make those choices work for the people, Nigerians have every right to say: let us try someone else,” he added.
The comments signal an intensifying political contest ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Makinde positioning his proposed Reset Nigeria Agenda around economic relief, social welfare, security and what he describes as people-centred governance.
However, the poverty figures and other allegations cited by the campaign organisation represent claims made by Makinde and his political team.
