Oluseyi “Seyi” Makinde is the Governor of Oyo State, now in his second term, and the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for 2027. An engineer who built an oil and gas metering business before entering politics, he was the PDP’s most prominent remaining governor until the party’s leadership crisis led him to seek the presidency on another platform.12

Early life and education

Makinde was born in Ibadan on 25 December 1967. He attended Bishop Phillips Academy in Ibadan and studied electrical engineering at the University of Lagos.1

Engineering and business career

After national service with Shell, he worked as a field engineer and field manager for Rebold International. In 1997, aged 29, he founded Makon Engineering and Technical Services, which grew into the Makon Group, an indigenous oil and gas company specialising in metering.1

Early political career

Makinde lost a bid for the Oyo South Senate seat in 2007 on the ANPP platform and failed to win the PDP’s Senate ticket for 2011. Denied the PDP governorship ticket in 2014, he ran for governor on the SDP platform in 2015 and came third. He returned to the PDP in 2017.1

Governor of Oyo State (2019–present)

In March 2019 he defeated Adebayo Adelabu of the APC with 515,621 votes to 357,982, ending eight years of APC government in the state, and was sworn in on 29 May 2019. He was re-elected in March 2023, defeating Teslim Folarin of the APC and Adelabu, who had moved to Accord.1

His government abolished school fees and levies in public schools and says it returned more than 54,000 out-of-school children to classrooms.3 He has emphasised road building, the prompt payment of salaries and pensions, and support for the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun). Opposition parties in the state, including Accord, have said that his second-term performance fell short of expectations.4

The G5 and the PDP crisis

Before the 2023 elections Makinde was one of five PDP governors, led by Nyesom Wike of Rivers, who refused to back the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, demanding that the PDP national chairman, a northerner, resign so that a southerner could lead the party. The group was widely seen as having contributed to Atiku’s defeat.56

After 2023 the PDP split into rival factions, and Makinde broke with Wike. With the party’s presidential ticket tied up in the factional dispute, he accepted the APM’s nomination in 2026. His camp describes the arrangement as a PDP–APM alliance; Wike’s faction, which INEC recognises as the PDP, rejects it.27

The 2027 campaign

On 30 May 2026 APM delegates adopted Makinde as their presidential candidate in Ibadan, and in August a convention in Bauchi presented him formally, with Bauchi governor Bala Mohammed as the party’s national leader. His running mate is Musa Lawal Daura. Six members of the House of Representatives from Oyo followed him into the APM.28 Wike dismissed his bid as “dead on arrival”.7 Makinde promises to serve a single term and campaigns on his Oyo record.

Personal life

Makinde is married to Tamunominini Makinde, and they have three children.1

References

  1. Seyi Makinde. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

  2. Oyo Gov Makinde emerges as APM presidential candidate for 2027 election. Channels Television, 30 May 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩

  3. How we returned over 54,000 out-of-school children to classrooms, by Makinde. The Guardian Nigeria. ↩

  4. 1st year of second term: Makinde’s performance below Oyo people’s expectations – Accord. The Guardian Nigeria, 2024. ↩

  5. Makinde’s Fate Hangs in the Balance over Opposition to Atiku. ThisDay, 9 January 2023. ↩

  6. The Political Suicide of G-5 Governors. ThisDay, 5 March 2023. ↩

  7. Wike says Makinde’s presidential ambition dead on arrival, PDP-APM alliance is false. AllAfrica, May 2026. ↩ ↩

  8. Six Oyo Reps defect from PDP to APM. Channels Television, 2 June 2026. ↩