The Presidency has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu welcomes the challenge of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State to run against him in the 2027 presidential election.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman, made this known in an article.
In the article published by The Eagle Online on Sunday, Rahman, however, said Makinde does not have the pedigree to do the battle with Tinubu.
The Eagle Online recalls that Governor Makinde declared for the Presidency at Mapo Hall in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
He said at the declaration at a joint unity mega-rally held by the Peoples Democratic Party and Allied Peoples Movement on May 14, 2027 that he would fly a joint flag of the PDP and APM.
Rahman wrote: “President Bola Tinubu welcomes Governor Makinde’s decision.
“He will be waiting to square up against him on January 15, 2027, if the latter can muster the conviction and work his way down to the final political wire.
“His entry has now increased the number of contestants to six or so, namely President Tinubu, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatudeen, Makinde and maybe former President Goodluck Jonathan.”
Examining Makinde’s chances, Rahman wrote further: “What are his chances?
“How far he can go in the race is a matter of conjecture, as he lacks a strong political base outside of Ibadan.
“He claims to be running on the PDP-APM alliance, yet his only support across the Niger, in the North, is perhaps his connection with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.
“I haven’t yet seen any politician burn political bridges as whimsically and recklessly as Makinde does.
“This is particularly exemplified in how he has ditched many allies who helped him into office, including Senator Hosea Agboola alias Alleluya, Chief Bisi Ilaka and Hon. Babs Oduyoye, his former Political Adviser.
“Another case in point is how his relationship with former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike has gone sour, to the extent that the two are today at daggers drawn.
“In the run-up to the 2023 elections. Wike left Port Harcourt to come and root for Makinde’s re-election in Ibadan.
“As the timeless maxim instructs, to thyself be true.
“I think Governor Makinde knows too well that he is on a wild goose chase.
“He is only indulging himself.
“What he is engaging in is a mere political gamble.
“My worry for him is when all else is done, when all the chips are down, when the battle is lost and won, his reputation would have been badly damaged, his legacy, if any, rubbished, his influence and relevance gone, and his place in history and reckoning within the Yoruba race sullied.”
