Seyi Makinde said on Wednesday that federal might would not decide the 2027 elections, declaring that Nigerians would choose their leaders regardless of political pressure. Speaking at the Oyo State tourism summit at the University of Ibadan International Conference Centre, he said, “I believe that this election cycle, federal might will not work.”
He added that what had worked in Ekiti state “in both instances” would not be enough this time, saying Nigerians would “show politicians pepper” and no longer act as bystanders. “They will show us that they don’t want to be bystanders anymore; they will participate, and I’m sure of what I’m saying,” Makinde said.
The governor’s remarks landed at a politically sensitive moment in Oyo, where he has emerged as one of the most visible power brokers in the Peoples Democratic Party. Last year, the Supreme Court nullified a convention held in Ibadan and the outcomes of that meeting, including the emergence of the Kabir Turaki-led executives backed by Makinde. Media reports have also linked him to possible 2027 ambitions, including a presidential run and a planned alliance involving the PDP and the Allied Peoples’ Movement.
Makinde also used the summit to frame succession in Oyo as a question of systems rather than personalities. He said his administration had built structures that would help sustain the state after he leaves office and that he would recommend a successor, but the people of Oyo State would make the final choice. “I tell people that I will recommend for Oyo state people, but the decision will rest with the people of Oyo state,” he said.
He warned that choosing the wrong person would carry a heavy cost. “But if you make a mistake and bring someone who will not do good work, it is a one-day event, but the impact will last four years,” he said. “So, we must get it right. Leadership changes but systems, they endure. So, our focus has been deliberate.”
That message also appeared to speak to speculation over who might follow him. Premium Times reported that Abimbola Adekanmbi, a former commissioner for finance in Oyo State, was a preferred successor for 2027 and that he entered Makinde’s government in 2025 as a late entrant. On Wednesday, Adebo Ogundoyin said he led lawmakers in the state to a strategic breakfast meeting with Adekanmbi, whom he described as the consensus gubernatorial candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement.
Makinde said he would back any candidate loyal to Oyo State with the capacity to govern effectively, saying, “For us, if you’re from Oyo state, loyal to Oyo state, and have capacity, we will tap you to support the development of Oyo state.” He added, “We are blind to part colouration but open to capacity that can move Oyo state forward.”
The tourism summit itself was part of the state government’s push to present Oyo as a long-term destination rather than a one-off attraction. Held under the theme “From Groundwork to Governance: Building Tourism That Endures,” it focused on how policy, infrastructure and security could deepen visitor traffic in the years ahead. Makinde said his administration had put in place policies, actions and economic enablers that would make Oyo a tourism hub in the South West and a major destination nationwide.
He said key infrastructure projects, better security and efforts to revive tourist sites would lift tourism activity over the next few years, and that the sector had already been institutionalised through structures and systems meant to outlast his tenure. In his telling, the same logic applied to politics: the people of Oyo, not federal force, would decide who comes next, and they would do it with more confidence than before.
