The Governor of Oyo State, Engr Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday, 22 January , 2026 met with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
Following the meeting, Governor Makinde addressed the media, where he categorically dispelled speculations about a possible defection to the APC. He reaffirmed his commitment to the PDP, while underscoring the necessity of a bipartisan relationship with the ruling party at the centre. According to him, bipartisan engagement becomes imperative where collaboration is required to advance projects and policies in the overriding interest of the people and the Nigerian state.
This development cannot be properly understood without revisiting the political ruptures that began in late 2025, following the controversial PDP national convention hosted in Ìbàdàn by Governor Makinde. That convention marked the visible collapse of the once-cordial relationship between Makinde and Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, former Governor of Rivers State and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. From that point, tensions escalated rapidly, hostilities deepened, and disagreements hardened into near-irreconcilable political estrangement.
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Both men were principal actors in the now-famous (G5) bloc ahead of the 2023 general elections. The G5 emerged in protest against what they considered a breach of the PDP’s unwritten convention of rotational presidency. It was widely believed that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, power ought to shift naturally to the Southern part of the country.
Wike invested immense political capital, financial resources, and personal energy in the struggle. However, he was ultimately denied the PDP presidential ticket, a development widely attributed to the political manoeuvring of Aminu Tambuwal, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar—both Northerners. To Wike, this was not merely political defeat; it was a profound sense of betrayal by Tambuwal and an act of political audacity by Atiku that he found deeply offensive and unacceptable.
Consequently, Wike and Makinde, alongside other aggrieved governors, formally constituted the G5. In the 2023 presidential election, the group openly worked against their party’s candidate and aligned, in practical terms, with Bola Tinubu of the APC. The rest, as they say, became political history.
In the years that followed, however, Makinde and Wike found themselves locked in a new and bitter internal struggle. Makinde consistently maintained that their 2023 revolt was neither designed to destroy the PDP nor to facilitate a mass defection to the APC. He insisted that he would not join the ruling party and that he remained committed to the survival, revival, and strengthening of the PDP.
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His position was anchored on a broader democratic philosophy: that a one-party state is unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy, and that a vibrant, well-oiled opposition structure is essential for balance, accountability, and institutional stability.
As internal party tensions intensified, Wike was eventually expelled from the PDP by the Makinde-aligned faction. In a dramatic turn, Makinde and his allies were tear-gassed at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja. Upon returning to Ìbàdàn, Governor Makinde dropped a political bombshell.
In a widely circulated interview, he alleged that Wike had, without any prompting, assured President Tinubu of his willingness to help “suffocate” the PDP, thereby clearing the path for APC political dominance and unchallenged breathing space. This disclosure infuriated Wike’s camp.
In response, Peter Ayodele Fayose, a close ally of Wike and a vocal supporter of President Tinubu—despite his repeated insistence that he would never formally join the APC—launched a fierce political offensive against Makinde. Allegations of corruption and land-grabbing were hurled at their former ally.
Makinde’s camp was clearly rattled. Their rebuttals appeared fragmented, uncoordinated, and largely unconvincing. Many Nigerians, however, understood that such episodic political dramas were inevitable as the nation inches toward the 2027 general elections—an electoral cycle already shaping up to be one of the most intriguing in recent history.
Within Oyo State, APC members were visibly elated. They saw an opportunity to politically weaken Makinde and sought to exploit his moment of vulnerability. For them, it was a chance to intensify pressure and politically corner him.
Yet, seasoned observers of Nigerian politics—and of Tinubu’s distinctive political style—knew better. Bola Tinubu, by and large, is known to respect political understandings and strategic alliances. Seyi Makinde stood firmly with him in 2023. One political misstep is hardly sufficient to consign an ally to political oblivion—especially when alternative political platforms, such as the ADC, are waiting in the wings to attract disaffected anti-Tinubu forces.
Tinubu was never going to throw Makinde into the dustbin of political irrelevance.
Indeed, it has long been evident to discerning analysts that the President has a notable soft spot for Governor Makinde. This political warmth is further underscored—symbolically and personally—by Tinubu’s well-known affection for his son, Seyi Tinubu. “Baba Seyi. Egbon Seyi.” In Nigerian political symbolism, such relational nuances are never entirely accidental.
Therefore, when Governor Makinde appeared at Aso Rock, it came as a shock to many APC supporters in Oyo State. They had already embarked on extensive reconciliation and reorganization efforts, convinced that they could reclaim Agodi Secretariat in 2027 without any accommodation with Makinde. They were eager to demonstrate to Tinubu that they could deliver Oyo State independently.
However, that posture reflects political romanticism, not political realism.
In electoral mathematics, votes are the ultimate currency. And with all modesty, Seyi Makinde—standing alone in Oyo State today—represents a political force comfortably worth well over one hundred thousand votes.
That is not a figure to be trivialized.
You may dislike his politics. You may resent his style. But you cannot afford to ignore his political value.
President Tinubu understands this reality perfectly.
This is not about undermining APC members in Oyo State. It is about relieving them of an otherwise burdensome electoral task through strategic political lifting. Makinde is not defecting to the APC—he has made that abundantly clear. There is, therefore, no basis for panic.
What he is doing is far more consequential: he is formally laying the groundwork for the institutionalization of bipartisan politics in Nigeria—structuring it in a manner that reduces friction, manages expectations, and promotes pragmatic governance.
In the final analysis, the younger generation of Nigerian politicians would do well to study Seyi Makinde closely. His ability to navigate complex political terrains with minimal rancour and calculated restraint is both rare and instructive.
He prepared for leadership long before he was fully appreciated.
APC members in Oyo State would be wise not to sabotage the evolving Tinubu–Makinde political understanding. Makinde is not Adeleke. He is understated, but daring. Quiet—but strategically bold.
In Nigerian politics, such a combination is never to be taken lightly.
Wale Akinremi
N4/387, Yemetu Kanbi
Korúkorù Compound
Ìbàdàn.
23/01/2026
