Ayodele Fayose, who used to be the governor of Ekiti State, is saying that Seyi Makinde, the current governor of Oyo State, is trying to become Atiku Abubakar’s running mate. Atiku Abubakar used to be the Vice President. Fayose says they want to do this through the African Democratic Congress (ADC) party.
Fayose made these claims on Wednesday. He was talking about a meeting that happened on Tuesday in Minna, Niger State. At this meeting were Atiku, Makinde, and Ibrahim Babangida, who used to be the Head of State.
Fayose believes that this meeting was planned to help them make political deals before the 2027 elections.
Fayose said in a statement that it’s not a secret that Seyi Makinde went to Minna to meet with Atiku. He added that the place and the people at the meeting were chosen carefully to make sure everyone felt comfortable and accepted.
Fayose claims that they talked about Atiku’s plan to win the ADC presidential ticket and Makinde’s desire to be his vice president.
He also said that they considered the possibility that Peter Obi, who ran for president with the Labour Party in 2023, might not want to be Atiku’s running mate or might not be accepted by the North as Atiku’s successor.
Fayose says that Atiku is 70 per cent sure he will get the ADC presidential ticket because he made sure the party’s ticket wouldn’t be limited to a specific zone.
The former Ekiti governor claims that Makinde agreed to join the ADC if he got the vice-presidential ticket as Atiku’s running mate. However, this would need to be approved by Atiku’s closest advisors.
Fayose also claims that Makinde promised to give N10 billion in two parts as an initial payment to help the ADC. He also promised more money when the campaigns start.
He says that Makinde told Atiku he could get delegates from the Southwest during the party’s primary. He also said he could use his wife’s connections in Rivers State to get delegate votes from the South-South region.
Fayose claims that Makinde said that using him to divide the Southwest votes would give the ADC an advantage in the general election.
As of now, neither Governor Makinde nor Atiku have responded to these claims. People are waiting to hear what they have to say about it.
