Obi attends inauguration of Makinde’s presidential campaign office

Peter Obi’s appearance at Seyi Makinde’s campaign office inauguration offered an unusual display of cooperation ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, in which the two men are expected to compete.

Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, attended Monday’s event in Abuja as political activity intensifies. Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, is entering the presidential race for the first time under the Allied People’s Movement. Obi is making his second attempt after finishing third in the 2023 election as the Labour Party candidate.

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We want the people of Nigeria to make their choice. Whoever they choose, all of us will come together to build a new Nigeria.

Obi called for unity among the presidential candidates and urged Nigerians to support whoever emerges from a free, fair and credible election. He said political leaders should put aside personal and partisan interests to address poverty, hunger and insecurity.

“We want the people of Nigeria to make their choice. Whoever they choose, all of us will come together to build a new Nigeria,” Obi said. He described Makinde as qualified to run and warned against turning the 2027 contest into a series of political quarrels and divisions.

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We don’t want politics of quarrel, politics of disagreement. Let our quarrel be to feed our people. Let our quarrel be to pull our people out of poverty.

“We don’t want politics of quarrel, politics of disagreement. Let our quarrel be to feed our people. Let our quarrel be to pull our people out of poverty,” Obi said. He also called for a Nigeria where children can succeed through their abilities rather than political connections: “We want a Nigeria where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody.”

Makinde is due to complete his second and final term as Oyo governor in May 2027, when he hopes to move into the presidency. Obi said collective action would remain necessary after the election, regardless of who wins.

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We want a Nigeria where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody.