Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who is also the 2027 presidential candidate for the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), has strongly criticized the Federal Government’s spending priorities, questioning how flagship programs such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) address the immediate economic hardship facing millions of citizens.
Speaking on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, during the APM South-South Town Hall Meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Makinde challenged the government to prove that its macro-level infrastructure projects and economic initiatives have translated into lower transportation costs or tangible relief for ordinary Nigerians.
Addressing stakeholders, party members, and voters at the town hall gathering, Makinde argued that the administration’s focus on large-scale infrastructural ventures is disconnected from the daily economic pressures on households.
”I have also told them, ‘You cannot keep complicating the lives of Nigerians.’ Everything from them is mega. They want to do a superhighway from where to where? They want to do mega this and mega that,” Makinde remarked during his address.
He added that key policy interventions, including the Presidential Initiative on CNG and the ‘Naira for Crude’ arrangement, have failed to deliver the promised relief to everyday commuters and transport operators:
”There’s a Presidential Initiative on CNG—it came to nothing. ‘Naira for Crude’ came to nothing. Has it translated to lower costs of transportation for millions of Nigerians?”
Turning to fuel prices and market modulation, the APM presidential flagbearer rejected vague policy assurances from federal authorities and demanded a transparent, published breakdown of petrol pricing.
”So now they say they want to modulate the price of petroleum products. They want to modulate the lives of millions of Nigerians. They want to modulate the destiny of the most populous Black nation on the face of the Earth,” Makinde said.
”My question is very simple… Give us the template. Once we have the template, we can point out the real figures and tell you how to make this thing work for millions of Nigerians.”
Makinde’s remarks follow earlier criticisms leveled against the Federal Government’s handling of major infrastructure programs.
Speaking on behalf of the candidate, Felix Hassan Hyat, Director-General of the Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO), called for an immediate independent audit and full disclosure of the procurement, payment records, and route realignments concerning the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
Hyat criticized what he described as a lack of transparency and proper technical planning, asserting that the APM platform offers a clear vision for national renewal and fiscal accountability.
