The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has announced former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
Makinde announced this Thursday at the elective national convention of the APM held at Rilwanu Adamu Square, Government House, Bauchi.
Daura replaces Ibrahim Bala, who was earlier announced as placeholder.
Daura joined APM a few days ago after resigning from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) after losing the Katsina ADC governorship ticket.
Lawal Daura is a former DSS chief who served from 2015 to 2018. His security experience is being positioned as asset for the ticket.
Makinde Says Task Is Bigger Than Winning Power
Speaking on the choice, Makinde said Daura was chosen to help address Nigeria’s security challenges.
At the convention, Yusuf Dantalle was re-elected as national chairman of APM.
Makinde said the task before opposition in 2027 is bigger than winning.
“As we approach 2027, therefore, I believe the task before all of us is bigger than winning an election. It is to give Nigerians a real choice about the future of their country,” he said.
He said APM has emerged as opposition party to reckon with and asked new leaders to work with other opposition parties.
“As I said during the Ibadan Declaration in April this year, the presence of credible opposition is what sustains democracy. So, our new leaders must be ready to work with other opposition parties to ensure that we give Nigerians a credible alternative in the 2027 general election,” he said.
He said 2027 should be about measurable outcomes, not announcements.
“The 2027 election must be an election about outcomes. For too long, we have measured governance by announcements. We are presented with policy after policy, rather than evidence of whether those policies have made people’s lives better,” he said.
“When our mothers go to the market, they don’t experience economic policy as a statistic. They experience it in what their money can buy. How much rice, beans and gari they can take home,” he added.
Plans For Economy, Security And Federalism
On jobs, he said young Nigerians judge employment policies by ability to secure productive work.
“Families do not judge security by the number of meetings government has held. They judge it by whether they can travel, farm, work and sleep with their two eyes closed,” he said.
“The question before Nigeria in 2027 should not simply be: What has government done? It should be: What has changed for Nigerians?” he said.
He listed poverty reduction, job creation, education, healthcare and security as major issues. He said over 140 million Nigerians live in poverty and over 60% of population is young.
He called for restructuring to bring powers closer to people.
“Nigeria cannot achieve its full potential when decisions that should be taken in Osun, Kano, Cross River or Enugu must first wait for Abuja. We need a federation in which more decisions and resources are brought closer to the people,” he said.
He also spoke on trust deficit and politics without enmity.
In remarks, Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed, inaugurated as national leader, said, “Our presidential candidate is an engineer by profession. He knows how to manufacture, develop and draw a plan.”
APM Chairman Dantalle said, “We have everything we need. Nigerians are not supposed to be slaves in their own country.”
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