Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Governor, has given a hint about the candidate he worked for in the February 25 presidential election in Nigeria.
The Governor spoke during an interview on Saturday with Splash FM when he was asked about the candidate he supported in the just concluded presidential election.
In his response to the question, Makinde said he is happy to be part of the process that “redrew the electoral map of Nigeria” as the people showed they wanted power to return to the south.
Speaking further, he explained that he supported fairness, justice, and equity.
“I supported fairness, justice, and equity. I supported a united Nigeria, a Nigeria that gives opportunity to every part of this country,” Governor Makinde said.
Asked specifically by the anchor if the candidate he is referring to is the All Progressives Congress (APC), flagbearer, Bola Tinubu, Makinde replied “well, if you say so.”
The Oyo State Governor is one of the aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors popularly called the G5 who refused to work for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
They also insisted on the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as the PDP national chairman as a condition to support Atiku.
In the February 25 polls, Tinubu who has since been announced as the president-elect, polled 449, 884 votes in Oyo state to defeat Atiku who polled 182, 977
Speaking further during the radio interview on Saturday, Makinde said: “He (Tinubu) defeated me out there (Makinde’s ward). How do you deliver your ward? You know, you allow people to express themselves. A lot of our people, that is what they decided to do. They decided that look, we want after 8 years of presidency in the north, they want it to come to the south and this place being southwest, one of theirs was a candidate so they supported one of their own.
“When you go into a contest, you have to situate things appropriately. We had a survey before that election; we knew that a lot of our people are agitating for a country where there is fairness, equity and justice. I pointed it out to our party.
“I am glad that I am a part of a process that redrew the electoral map of Nigeria. That arrogance, I believe with the result of last Saturday’s election is basically behind us. Now we know that people will have to seek for alignment. If you want to rule this country, you are not just going to say oh, because I am from a certain part of this country, then that is the only qualification I require to rule this country. Now, you have to build bridges, reach out to others.”
Asked during the interview if the political direction he chose to follow will not have a negative impact on his second-term ambition, Makinde said he is ready to forgo his political career to stand by the truth but expressed confidence that the people of Oyo State will vote for him and the PDP in the March 11 governorship election.
“Well, that is left to the people of Oyo state. If I have to choose between my political survival and doing what is right and just within the political space in Nigeria, I will choose to forgo my political career,” he said.