Makinde Meets Tinubu at State House Amid PDP Internal Tensions

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde on Wednesday visited the Presidential Villa in Abuja, arriving shortly after Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang.

Presidency sources confirmed that President Bola Tinubu held separate meetings with both governors.

Makinde’s visit comes against the backdrop of growing political tensions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Oyo governor, a prominent PDP figure, has recently declared that he would not support President Tinubu’s bid for a second term, citing concerns about the future of democratic governance in Nigeria.

He has also openly acknowledged a strained relationship with Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State governor.

Makinde said Wike had pledged to deliver the PDP in support of Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections without broad consultation with key party stakeholders.

The disagreement between both politicians traces back to the period preceding the 2023 presidential election, when Makinde was part of a bloc of PDP governors who declined to endorse the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The group argued that the party’s candidate and national chairman should not emerge from the same region.

During that election, Tinubu, then the All Progressives Congress candidate, won Oyo State despite it being governed by the PDP.

Since then, political observers note that the rivalry between Makinde and Wike has deepened, driven by competing interests over influence within the party’s structure.