Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State, has declared that the people of the state will vote for a presidential candidate whose election will promote Nigeria’s equity, justice, and unity.
The governor made the remarks while receiving the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Aswáj Bola Tinubu, who paid him a courtesy call on the sidelines of the party’s campaign rally in Ibadan, the state capital, on Thursday.
He urged Tinubu to campaign freely in the state, saying that everything had been done to make the event peaceful and trouble-free.
He said his administration believed in putting people first, stating that “political players will come and go, but the country will remain.”
Speaking on the position of the G5, the group of governors within the People’s Democratic Party at odds with the party’s candidate, Makinde said it is that “if they have to choose between their individual aspiration and the unity of the country, they will choose Nigeria’s unity.”
He said the group monitored the APC presidential primaries that produced Tinubu as candidate, and commended the principled position taken by the Northern Governors.
Noting that the Northern Governors reckoned that because power must return to the South in 2023, they would support a Southern candidate.
“There has to be inclusiveness by all sections of the country in power-sharing if the country must progress.
“If the country does not survive, how can anyone aspire to be anything in that country,” he said.
Tinubu thanked Governor Makinde for the warm reception, saying he came to accord him the respect that he deserves as the chief executive of the state.
“I cannot come to Oyo State to campaign for votes without visiting you to pay my respect to you as a governor, leader and an Omoluabi.”
On Asiwaju’s entourage during the visit were Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, former APC Interim Chairman Bisi Akande, former Ekiti governor Kayode Fayemi, APC National Woman Leader Betta Edu, Minister of Sports Sunday Dare, Senator Dayo Adeyeye and Senator Soji Akanbi, among others.
After the visit, Asíwájú and the campaign train met with some traditional rulers from the South-west zone before proceeding to Mapo Hall where a mammoth crowd had waited for them to address the rally.