•Faults president’s Independence Day address
Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, has mounted a direct challenge to President Bola Tinubu, combining sharp criticism of the federal government with a town hall campaign built around his “Reset Nigeria” agenda, from his South-west home front to Katsina in the North-west and Lafia, Nasarawa State, in the North-central.
Makinde is the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), while his running mate is Lawal Musa Daura.
Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation has also dismissed President Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast as a “rhetorical exercise” that failed to provide concrete answers to Nigeria’s economic hardship, poverty and insecurity.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the campaign said Nigerians had expected specific, measurable and binding commitments on the economy and national security but were instead offered broad assurances without timelines, targets or clear policy commitments.
“It is indeed disappointing that the president’s address failed to present specific, measurable and binding economy and security policy commitments for which Nigerians can hold him accountable,” the organisation said.
“Instead, the speech remained vague and failed to provide concrete answers or direction on major national issues.”
Tinubu defended his administration’s economic reforms, saying Nigeria had moved beyond painful adjustments toward shared prosperity.
But Makinde’s campaign rejected that assessment, arguing that the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira had sharply increased the cost of living, weakened household purchasing power and placed severe pressure on businesses.
It cited increases in the prices of petrol, transportation, food, healthcare and other essential goods, as well as business closures and the departure or restructuring of multinational companies, as evidence that the administration’s policies had failed to produce prosperity for ordinary Nigerians.
The campaign also faulted the government’s response to Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and questioned its strategies for agriculture, industrialisation and local manufacturing. It further criticised the administration’s reliance on foreign borrowing amid a rising debt burden.
On security, the organisation said the President’s speech offered little comfort to communities suffering killings, kidnappings and other violent crimes.
“It is saddening that the Independence Day speech had no soothing or reassuring words to millions of Nigerian families and communities who are victims of the daily killings, maiming and abductions going on under the APC administration,” it said.
Makinde and Daura have begun a series of town hall meetings to introduce the “Reset Nigeria” agenda, gather citizens’ views, and incorporate the concerns of the six geopolitical zones into their manifesto.
Unlike conventional campaign rallies, where politicians speak from elevated platforms and supporters respond with rehearsed chants, the Makinde-Daura campaign says its town halls are intended to be issue-based and citizen-driven. The emphasis is on direct engagement with groups whose daily experiences reflect the country’s economic and security crises.
Anthony Ehilebo, Makinde’s Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communication, said the meetings would focus on national stability, citizens’ welfare, accountable leadership and the transparent management of public resources.
In Katsina, Makinde and Daura confronted two issues that have become defining concerns in northern Nigeria: insecurity and poverty.
Daura described the problems as intertwined. In communities where insecurity has driven farmers from their land, disrupted markets and destroyed livelihoods, poverty is not merely an economic statistic; it is a consequence of fear.
Makinde told the gathering that the campaign had listened to the people’s concerns and understood the urgency of their situation.
“We are grateful to the people of Katsina State for the warm welcome today as we held our North-West town hall meeting,” he later said.
“We have listened, and we want to assure them that their concerns about rising poverty and insecurity are part of the reason why we are calling for a reset of our dear country.”
Makinde also addressed a controversy in Katsina over the reconstruction and upgrade of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in Ibadan.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had claimed that President Tinubu gave Oyo State N50 billion for the project.
Makinde rejected the claim, insisting the Oyo State Government was fully financing the airport upgrade.