Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has declared that the outcome of the 2027 presidential election will be decided strictly by Nigerian voters rather than campaign spending or billionaire political backers.

Speaking on Monday during the APM North-Central Zonal Town Hall Meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Makinde stated that financial leverage and political punditry would not dictate the country's democratic direction.

"This election, 2027 election, will not be determined by pundits and pollsters. This election is not going to be determined by the number of billionaires you have in your corner or how much billion you have to spend. This election will be determined by the people of Nigeria," Makinde told the gathering.

Critiquing the current administration’s fiscal management, Makinde labeled federal economic policies as "voodoo economics," noting that increased disbursements from the Federation Account to state governments have failed to cushion widespread economic hardship or reduce hunger.

He disclosed that Oyo State’s reliance on federal allocation had successfully dropped from over 80 percent in 2019 to 65 percent by 2022, before climbing back toward 80 percent following the federal removal of the petrol subsidy.

"They claim we have more money, that the state governors, the state government have been collecting more money from the federation account," he said. "I’m not arguing with that. Yes, the quantum of the money, yes, we have more money, but has it translated to fighting hunger in our society?"

Addressing national security, Makinde questioned the implementation strategy behind establishing new army divisions, pointing out that an analysis of the 2026 national budget revealed no explicit financial provisions allocated for their creation.

Outlining his "Reset Nigeria" campaign platform, the APM candidate promised a four-year strategic roadmap focusing on four key pillars: security architecture, educational reform, data-driven economic management, and socio-political restructuring.

"Reset and give Nigeria a new security architecture, reset and give Nigeria a new path for education, reset our economy utilizing data, science, and logic, and reset our socio-political environment in four years," Makinde asserted.

He added that if elected, his administration would initiate a transitional government of national unity starting May 29, 2027, aimed at introducing new institutional players and driving sustainable national development.

ID