Tinubu’s Umrah trip: Prayers can also be answered in Nigeria — Makinde

…to unveil manifesto November 4, promises solutions to economic, security challenges

Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, has challenged President Bola Tinubu over his trip to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria, saying the President should remain in the country and pray for its progress.

Reacting to Tinubu’s trip while speaking on Thursday at the South-East leg of his town hall engagements with Nigerians in Enugu, Makinde said prayers could be answered in Nigeria, asking the President to combine prayers with honesty about the country’s challenges.

He told the session, “I was reading on social media last night and into this morning that our President is travelling to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria.

“Well, prayers can also be answered here in Nigeria. Please, we will remain here, pray for our country and pray for our leaders because Nigeria belongs to all of us.”

Makinde added, “Our leaders should please pray for Nigeria, but they should also stop deceiving the people and tell Nigerians the true state of affairs. 

“That way, as they pray, our prayers will not be in vain.”

Makinde also announced that the party would unveil its manifesto on November 4, 2026, following the conclusion of its nationwide town hall engagements, during which it had gathered citizens’ views on the challenges confronting the country.

He disclosed that the party would spend the weekend finalising the document to incorporate the concerns and expectations raised by Nigerians, stressing that the APM would not formulate policies without consulting the people.

The candidate went on, “We have been travelling around the country. We have visited the North-East, North-West, North-Central, South-South and South-West, and we are now in the South-East.

“In that manifesto, you will find the issues you have raised with us and our proposed solutions to the challenges confronting our country.”

Makinde identified the economy, security, education and the socio-political environment as the four major pillars of his proposed reset agenda, adding that restoring public trust through sincerity and accountability would be crucial to addressing Nigeria’s challenges. He he urged Nigerians to reject religious and ethnic divisions, saying the country’s problems affected citizens regardless of their backgrounds. 

He also promised to prioritise youth employment, entrepreneurship and skills acquisition, disclosing that the party had partnered with Skill Reset Nigeria to train one million young Nigerians in skills that could improve their employment prospects.

Makinde, who acknowledged the perception that the South-East was firmly behind Nigeria Democratic Congress ( NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi, said the APM had come to present its message and give the people an opportunity to consider its proposals.

“While others are distributing money to buy support, we are winning hearts”, the governor told the gathering, urging supporters to protect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and be prepared to use them to vote in the 2027 elections.

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On the economy, he questioned the Federal Government’s continued borrowing despite claims of substantial foreign reserves and increased tax revenue, arguing that high interest rates and inadequate access to long-term financing were stifling manufacturing and business expansion.

The APM candidate said his administration would create a business-friendly environment to encourage entrepreneurship, expand economic opportunities and move Nigeria away from an economy dependent on sharing federal allocations.

The National Chairman of the APM, Mr Yusuf Dantalle, who also addressed the meeting, described the country’s situation as a source of concern, arguing that unreliable energy supply, transportation difficulties and insecurity were undermining economic growth.

Dantalle, a farmer, said every successful economy depends on a productive private sector and reliable energy supply, adding that rising international petroleum prices should benefit Nigeria as an oil-producing country rather than worsen the hardship faced by its citizens.

He linked conventional crime, banditry, kidnapping and the Boko Haram insurgency to deeper socioeconomic problems, insisting that the country needed to address the underlying conditions driving insecurity.

Making a direct appeal to Tinubu, Dantalle urged the President to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and allow Makinde to complete what he described as the remaining four years of the Southern presidential term.

He noted, “In 2023, Oyo State Governor considered President Tinubu worthy of his support and backed him to become President. We have seen the outcome.

“Today, we are calling on President Tinubu to support a new direction and step aside by withdrawing from the 2027 race to allow Makinde to complete the remaining four years of the Southern presidential term. This is the right thing for President Tinubu to do.”

The party’s vice-presidential candidate, Mr Lawal Daura, on his part, observed that Nigeria needed leaders capable of confronting hunger, deprivation, insecurity and other challenges affecting citizens. 

He warned that democracy could not thrive in an environment where politics was militarised, and security was politicised.

Daura stressed that he and Makinde were committed to reforming the system and addressing the country’s problems, insisting that the APM was not offering empty promises or experimenting with Nigeria’s future.

He stated, “We are not actors, nor are we here to experiment with the future of our country. We are resetters here to reform the system and make it work for the people.

Daura added that the party’s 16-point agenda was designed to provide a comprehensive response to the country’s challenges, stressing that Nigeria needed selfless, patriotic and competent leadership capable of delivering lasting benefits to present and future generations.