The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has declared that its presidential candidate on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Engr. Seyi Makinde, will defeat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 12 battleground states identified by the President, as well as in other states across the country, in the January 2027 presidential election.
The organisation also predicted that Makinde would decisively defeat Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, insisting that no amount of political manoeuvring, intimidation or abuse of incumbency could reverse what it described as the growing opposition to the President’s re-election.
The MDPCO stated this in a statement issued on Saturday by its Director of Strategy and Communication, Richard Ihediwa.
It attributed Tinubu’s declining electoral prospects to what it described as the arrogance and political overreach of members of his inner circle, arguing that their conduct had deepened public resentment against the administration.
According to the organisation, Tinubu’s decision to personally visit and campaign in only 12 states — Oyo, Kaduna, Rivers, Plateau, Borno, Enugu, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Kano, Adamawa and Lagos — underscores his concern over Makinde’s growing political influence and the acceptance of his RESET NIGERIA agenda.
The campaign organisation maintained that even if the President eventually visits the states, such visits would not alter the determination of Nigerians to vote him out, citing the economic hardship and other difficulties it blamed on his administration.
It further argued that Tinubu had no significant achievements to showcase to Nigerians in the identified states or elsewhere in the country, claiming that citizens had increasingly resorted to the expression “T-Pain” to describe the hardship they associate with the administration’s policies.
MDPCO Dares Tinubu to Travel by Road
The organisation challenged Tinubu to proceed with his planned campaign visits and use the opportunity to engage directly with Nigerians rather than limiting his interactions to airport receptions and campaign rallies.
“We challenge President Tinubu not to have a change of mind but to visit these states and face the people,” the statement said.
The MDPCO urged the President to travel by road across the country to witness the condition of federal highways, the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians and what it described as widespread infrastructural decay.
It also accused the administration of wasting public resources on projects and programmes it considered unproductive, despite the hardship confronting citizens.
“If President Tinubu believes he is as popular as he claims, he should not stop at the rally ground or the airport when he gets to any of the states. He should go beyond waving to gatherings of APC supporters and be bold enough to engage directly with people in communities and towns to seek their votes,” the organisation stated.
It contrasted the President’s campaign approach with that of Makinde, whom it said had been engaging Nigerians directly since the commencement of his campaign.
Makinde’s RESET NIGERIA Agenda
The MDPCO said Makinde’s RESET NIGERIA agenda offered a practical alternative to what it described as the empty slogans of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to the organisation, the APM candidate’s campaign is centred on rebuilding public institutions and strengthening the systems required to deliver measurable improvements in governance and national development.
It said the RESET NIGERIA agenda proposed an inclusive, four-year transitional government of national unity, built around four priority areas: education, the economy, security and socio-political reforms.
The organisation further described Makinde’s programme as a data-driven approach to governance, with poverty reduction through increased production, improved security through intelligence gathering and social reorientation, and a combination of decisive kinetic and non-kinetic measures.
It added that the candidate’s education policy would prioritise wider access to quality, functional education, while his institutional reform agenda would promote inclusive governance, accountability and responsible public leadership.
The MDPCO contrasted these proposals with what it characterised as Tinubu’s arbitrary and directionless leadership, insisting that Nigeria required a government capable of developing sustainable solutions to the country’s economic, security and social challenges.
Youths Embracing RESET NIGERIA, Campaign Insists
The organisation said feedback from its campaign activities indicated that Makinde’s message was gaining traction among Nigerians, particularly young people who were searching for a credible alternative to the current administration.
It expressed confidence that the APM candidate’s proposals would inspire renewed optimism and give Nigerians a clearer sense of direction under a possible Makinde-Daura presidency.
The campaign organisation, however, urged Tinubu not to squander public resources on what it described as a “Nebuchadnezzar” campaign council comprising politicians who, in its assessment, lacked the electoral strength to secure victory for the APC.
It maintained that the 2027 presidential election would provide Nigerians with an opportunity to reject the current administration and embrace the alternative offered by Makinde’s RESET NIGERIA agenda.
