I’m comfortable in PDP despite party crisis – Makinde says after meeting with Tinubu

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has dismissed speculations that he plans to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting he remains loyal to the opposition party despite ongoing defections by some of its members.

Makinde spoke after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.

Reacting to questions on whether he was contemplating a move to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), following the footsteps of some former PDP colleagues, the governor made it clear that he has no such intention.

“I am comfortable in the PDP,” he stated.

The governor explained that Nigeria’s challenges require cooperation across party lines, stressing that national interest should override partisan considerations.

“We may have issues in this country where you need a bipartisan approach, where there won’t be an issue of APC talking alone or PDP talking alone; where we will have to look at what is the best foot forward in the interest of our nation. So, when you get to that junction, you need everybody on board,” he said.

Makinde arrived at the Aso Rock Villa shortly after Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who recently defected from the PDP to the APC. Although both governors were received at the Villa, they were ushered in separately before proceeding to meet the president.

The Oyo governor was a prominent figure in the PDP Governors’ Forum bloc known as the G5, which opposed the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 general election.

The G5 governors argued that the PDP breached its unwritten zoning principle by fielding a northern candidate after the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, also from the North. According to the group, equity and national unity demanded that power shift to the South.

During the 2023 presidential election, Makinde and other members of the G5 openly distanced themselves from the PDP candidate and backed Bola Tinubu, who went on to win the election. Other members of the G5 included former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.