2027: Makinde knocks Tinubu over budget implementation

— Says Nigeria needs reset, urges government to tax prosperity, not poverty

By Dayo Johnson

AKURE — The African Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as poor implementation of the national budget, promising to reset Nigeria’s security architecture, economy and political system if elected in 2027.

Makinde, who spoke at the APM South-West town hall meeting in Akure, Ondo State, said Nigeria was not functioning as it should, blaming weak budget implementation and an unproductive economy for the country’s persistent challenges.

He also advocated a tax system that places greater emphasis on prosperity rather than poverty, arguing that government should prioritise policies that enable Nigerians to become productive and financially secure.

“I said, please, let the people be productive. When they are productive, they become prosperous. When they become prosperous, tax their prosperity. Do not tax poverty,” he said.

Makinde questioned the implementation of successive national budgets, citing what he described as uncertainty over which budget the Federal Government was executing.

He made the remarks while referring to the presentation of the United Nations budget to the President by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

“This is happening under an administration whose budget for Nigeria we cannot even identify. Is it the 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 budget? Yet, they are presenting the UN budget and saying, ‘Look, this is the UN budget,’” he said.

The Oyo State governor said his administration had improved budget performance in the state from between 28 and 30 per cent when he assumed office to more than 70 per cent.

According to him, the state has also sustained a January-to-December budget cycle for more than seven years, with budgets usually presented to the House of Assembly between November and December and passed in early December.

“By January 1 of the following year, we begin implementing it. That is our record,” he said.

Makinde said his proposed Reset Nigeria agenda would focus on infrastructure, security, economic productivity and reforms to the country’s political structure.

He argued that infrastructure development should support economic growth and help address the concerns of young people and women, rather than being driven by political considerations or regional interests.

“We do not want turn-by-turn nepotism. We also do not want a situation where someone says, ‘I will execute projects in my zone because it is my turn,’” he said.

He warned that such an approach could leave projects unfinished from one administration to another, preventing the country from deriving full value from its resources.

1999 precedent

Addressing concerns about contesting the presidency when the incumbent president is from the South-West, Makinde cited the 1999 presidential election, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae contested against each other despite both being from the region.

He said the contest demonstrated that the South-West could present multiple candidates and allow Nigerians to choose their preferred leader.

“In 1999, when the entire country ceded the presidency to the South-West, we had two of our fathers, Baba President Olusegun Obasanjo and Baba Olu Falae, contesting for the presidency. Both were from the South-West, and heaven did not fall,” he said.

Makinde added that Nigeria’s challenges required collective action across regions, rather than an approach based on political entitlement or the belief that a particular region should automatically retain power.

He also criticised what he described as the use of political power to weaken opposition parties, insisting that a functioning democracy required an open political space.

“I do not understand how a party in power, with 31 governors and almost all the instruments of coercion at its disposal, can still be afraid of the opposition. It will not allow the opposition to thrive,” he said.

He called on the Federal Government to stop actions that he alleged were creating crises for opposition parties, adding that “there is no democracy in a one-party system.”

Security, economic reforms

On security, Makinde said Nigeria needed to overhaul its security architecture to create an environment in which businesses could operate beyond the current constraints imposed by insecurity.

He said his administration, if elected, would work to expand economic activity and reduce the country’s dependence on federal allocations as the principal source of revenue for states and local governments.

Makinde also reiterated his call for the Federal Government to remit funds due to states and local governments from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) revenue, saying the reconciliation of the figures had been completed.

He said the Reset Nigeria agenda would seek to make the economy more productive and create multiple pathways for lifting citizens out of poverty.

The APM candidate urged South-West residents to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards and support his presidential ambition, describing himself as a “reset agent”.

He also proposed that an APM-led administration would constitute a transitional government of national unity to reposition the country for prosperity.

APM offers alternative

Earlier, the party’s National Chairman, Mamman Dantalle, said the APM was offering Nigerians an alternative to the country’s current political and economic direction ahead of the 2027 general election.

Dantalle urged voters to assess candidates based on their experience, competence and capacity to deliver, rather than their financial resources or age.

He identified insecurity as a major national concern, saying many Nigerians were afraid of travelling, visiting markets or going to their farms because of the risk of kidnapping.

The party chairman argued that insecurity was linked to broader socio-economic problems, including poverty, inequality, poor living conditions and hopelessness.

“These kidnappers are not unknown individuals. They live among us. They are our brothers. They are our family members. They are our friends,” he said.

He added that some conventional crimes reflected deeper problems in the country’s socio-economic and political arrangements.

“Sociologically, some of these conventional crimes are not the problem. They are only indications that something is wrong with the socio-economic and political arrangement. And what is that? Inequality, poverty, squalor and hopelessness,” he said.

Also speaking, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed said Nigeria needed leaders with the vision, knowledge and capacity to unlock the potential of its different regions.

Mohammed highlighted the economic importance of the South-South, particularly its natural resources, but said the region required leadership capable of translating its wealth into improved living standards.

He said the APM candidates offered an opportunity to pursue a different direction through planning, consultation and public participation.