2027: Makinde woos Obi’s S’East base, rejects ethnic politics

In the lead-up to Nigeria's 2027 presidential election, the presidential candidate of the Allied People's Movement, Seyi Makinde, has called on voters in the South-East region not to let ethnic and religious considerations sway their votes. During a town hall meeting in Enugu, Makinde stressed that Nigeria's challenges affect citizens regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds.

Peter Obi, the Labour Party's presidential candidate in 2023, won across the South-East states, which are predominantly inhabited by the Igbo people. With less than three months until the election, Obi, now running as the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, continues to garner support among his constituents in the South-East.

Reacting to Obi's strong showing in the region, Makinde urged Nigerians to reject political divisions based on ethnicity and religion. He outlined his party's four major policy pillars: economic reset, security restructuring, education reform, and socio-political transformation. Makinde emphasized that Nigeria's challenges do not discriminate based on religion or ethnicity and that the party aims to create opportunities for the youth to tackle hunger and poverty.

He also pledged to prioritize job creation and economic expansion by shifting Nigeria away from reliance on federal allocations towards a self-sustaining economy capable of generating sustainable wealth and employment opportunities.

Makinde's campaign team has consulted with Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones to incorporate their concerns into the party's policy agenda. The APM presidential candidate announced that the party would finalize its manifesto by November 4, 2026, ahead of the official unveiling. He also highlighted Skill Reset Nigeria's initiative, which has trained one million young Nigerians in employable skills, urging interested youths to register through SkillReset.com.

Meanwhile, the vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, warned that widespread hunger, deprivation, and insecurity would hinder democracy from thriving in Nigeria. Daura emphasized the importance of addressing these issues and called for selfless and competent leadership to tackle the country's many problems.