…Oyo Gov Hints He Will Work Against Tinubu in the Southwest
By Yinka Giwa
Governor Seyi Makinde has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State will not be part of any arrangement designed to weaken the party and hand over power at the centre to another political platform in the 2027 general election.
Makinde made the declaration on Tuesday in Ibadan at the inauguration of a newly built PDP Secretariat at Oke-Ado, constructed by the Oyo State government. He said the party had learnt from past mistakes and would no longer allow itself to be manipulated for the benefit of rivals.
The governor admitted that during the 2023 election cycle, he aligned with individuals whose actions contributed to the emergence of another party at the presidential election, but insisted that chapter of his political life was closed.
“I was yoked with some people in 2023, and we saw what happened. But I have repented. I will not go that road again,” Makinde said. “For them to hold PDP down so that another party can remain in power, it is no, no, no.”
He attributed the lingering crisis within the PDP to a few individuals whom he said had since been expelled from the party in November 2025, urging party members to trace current disruptions to their source.
Makinde expressed confidence in the judiciary over the party’s ongoing legal battles, saying the courts would uphold justice for the PDP, which he described as the last hope of the common man.
A highlight of the event was the formal handover of documents of the newly built secretariat, named after former state chairman, Alhaji Omokunmi Mustapha, to Alhaji Kabiru Turaki, whose emergence as national chairman was nullified by a Federal High Court in Ibadan on January 30. The court voided the party’s November 15 and 16, 2025 convention held in Ibadan.
Turaki, in his remarks, thanked Makinde for the secretariat project and commended his efforts at strengthening the party.
Responding indirectly to comments by former Rivers State governor and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who on Monday vowed to protect the PDP from internal “vampires” and expressed interest in the Oyo chapter, Makinde said the party had already rid itself of disruptive elements.
“In Yoruba land, we say if a house is peaceful, it is because the vagabond there has not grown up,” he said, adding that such individuals gained influence after the PDP lost federal power in 2015.
According to him, the group held sway in the party for nearly a decade before being expelled last year. “They had their time. For 10 years, they practised their vagabondry in PDP. But they have been expelled. There is no more vagabond in PDP,” he said.
Makinde further distanced the Oyo State government from the PDP’s internal legal disputes and national leadership tussles, insisting the administration had no interest in party litigation.
Reflecting on his own past alignment with the group, he admitted to working with them after assuming office in 2019, but vowed to resist any attempt by them to retain control of the party ahead of 2027, declaring that their influence was already waning.