2027: Nigeria's Oil Must Provide Measurable Benefits To Nigerians — Makinde

The presidential candidate of the Allied People's Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has said Nigeria's crude oil must deliver real and measurable benefits to Nigerians, calling for greater transparency across the petroleum value chain. Makinde, who is also the Governor of Oyo State, spoke at the commissioning of the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Office in Abuja on Monday. He called for complete transparency in the petroleum sector, covering crude oil production and domestic allocation, refining, transportation, distribution, taxes and retail margins. He said Nigerians should not be made to pay international-equivalent prices for crude supplied to local refineries when the resource is produced domestically. 'If a community grows food, the people of that community should not have to buy that food as though it travelled halfway around the world before reaching them. So, why should crude oil supplied to Nigerian refineries be priced as though Nigeria does not produce crude oil?' Makinde said the benefits of Nigeria's crude resources should be incorporated into the system from the outset through the price at which crude is supplied for domestic refining, rather than through what he described as an opaque intervention at the petrol pump after other costs and inefficiencies had accumulated. 'That benefit should be built into the system from the beginning, through the price at which crude oil is supplied for domestic refining — not through an opaque intervention at the petrol pump after all the costs, inefficiencies and distortions have been added.' He said his Reset Nigeria agenda was aimed at dismantling opaque systems and rebuilding public confidence in government. 'Government must show its workings. Nigerians must be able to see how decisions are made and how national resources are managed.' Makinde also called on Nigerians to join the Reset Nigeria movement, saying the initiative should extend beyond political circles to communities and everyday economic life. 'Reset Nigeria cannot be a conversation among politicians alone. It must become a conversation in our homes, markets, schools, offices, farms, factories and communities. 'We want to hear from the trader who struggles whenever transport costs rise. We want to hear from the farmer who cannot afford to move produce to the market. We want to hear from the business owner whose costs rise every time the price of fuel changes. 'We want to hear from the young Nigerian who is working hard but can no longer see a clear path to a better life. This office belongs to that conversation. Its doors are open to Nigerians who believe that our country can work better than it does today. So, I invite you: join the Reset Nigeria conversation.' Earlier, the National Leader of the APM and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, endorsed Makinde's economic vision and leadership capacity. He said, 'Whoever disregards us is at his own peril. We are here to Reset Nigeria and we are bringing in one of the best human capitals this country has produced — that is Makinde.' Mohammed praised Makinde's record in Oyo State, describing him as 'A mobilizer, a manager of resources, an engineer par excellence… Somebody who used little resources and did so much.' He said the Abuja campaign office, which he noted was solely provided by Makinde, demonstrated seriousness and preparedness for the national task ahead. The APM National Chairman, Dr. Yusuf Dantalle, said the Reset Nigeria project was aimed at rescuing a country that had drifted, adding that the movement was building a platform where competence, rather than ethnicity or religion, would determine leadership. Dantalle said the large turnout at the event reflected Nigerians' desire for a new political direction. He described the campaign headquarters as the 'engine room' of the party's victory in the 2027 elections and said the APM had fielded credible candidates across the country. He said the Makinde/Daura ticket offered Nigerians hope for improved governance, national security, economic prosperity and socio-religious harmony. 'Rest assured that Makinde will be President to all Nigerians as he has ably demonstrated as Governor of Oyo State,' he said. He added, 'With a competent vice-presidential candidate, Alhaji Lawal Daura, who once headed a critical security service in the country, insecurity will be tackled head-on.' Dantalle pledged that the APM would run an issue-based campaign focused on practical solutions, competence and the future of the country rather than politics of bitterness, division and hatred. 'This is our chance to build a strong, stable, united, prosperous, inclusive and just democratic society,' he said. In his goodwill message, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, said Makinde was qualified to be President of Nigeria. Obi said his attendance at the event demonstrated that belonging to different political parties did not make politicians enemies, adding that opposition parties would work together to birth a new Nigeria. Similarly, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Aliyu Babangida, called on opposition parties to collaborate to rescue the country. He said opposition parties were working towards supporting a single candidate, adding that they would zero in on a candidate from Southern Nigeria since the North had already had eight years. The event was attended by Alhaji Lawal Daura, the APM vice-presidential candidate; Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Governor of Osun State; national and state legislators; members of the APM Board of Trustees (BoT); members of the APM National Working Committee (NWC); and party faithful, among other dignitaries.