Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Thursday held a private meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, in an engagement that has drawn attention against the backdrop of shifting political alliances ahead of the 2027 general election.
Makinde arrived at the Presidential Villa shortly after Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang and was received separately by the president, underscoring the discreet nature of the engagements. No official details of the discussions were immediately disclosed.
The meeting is significant given Makinde’s recent public remarks distancing himself from Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The Oyo governor, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had stated that he would not support Tinubu’s second-term ambition, arguing that Nigeria’s democratic stability must take precedence over partisan considerations.
Makinde has also been outspoken about his strained relationship with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State governor.
According to Makinde, Wike had pledged to “hold the PDP” in support of Tinubu ahead of 2027 without consulting key stakeholders within the opposition party, an action that deepened existing internal divisions.
The duo were part of the G5 group of PDP governors who declined to support the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 presidential election.
The group, led by Wike, insisted that the PDP’s presidential ticket should not originate from the same region as the party’s national chairman, citing concerns about internal balance and equity.
Despite being a PDP-controlled state, Oyo ultimately delivered victory to Tinubu, then the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, highlighting Makinde’s political influence and the complex voting dynamics within the state at the time.
Relations between Makinde and Wike further deteriorated after the elections, as both men engaged in a prolonged struggle for control of party structures and influence within the PDP. Thursday’s meeting between Makinde and President Tinubu is therefore being closely watched by political observers as a possible signal of strategic recalibration rather than partisan realignment.