Laja Adeoye, 2027 Lagos State governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), says Gov. Seyi Makinde, the party’s Presidential Candidate in 2027 general elections will reset Nigeria within four years.
Adeoye made the assertion while speaking on a television programme,monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Lagos. He said Makinde’s proposed four-year administration would deliver significant improvements in infrastructure, economy, education, healthcare and social services.
Adeoye also said Makinde’s advocacy for a single six-year presidential term was also consistent with the need to strengthen Nigeria’s unwritten principle of rotational presidency between the North and South. “We believe in the unwritten principle of rotational presidency between the North and the South.
“The current President, Bola Tinubu, is from the South-West and is therefore regarded as representing the South in the current rotation.
“However, many people in the South expected stronger representation and greater benefits from the current administration. “What we are seeing today is not what we expected from a government that is supposed to represent the interests of our region.
“That is why Makinde is telling Nigerians that, under his leadership, Nigeria can be reset within four years. “We believe that four years should be sufficient to make significant and lasting improvements in the country,” he said.
Adeoye said the proposed four-year reset agenda would make substantial progress in infrastructure, economy, education, healthcare and social services before the presidency returned to the North under the principle of rotation.
On fuel pricing, Adeoye said Makinde was not advocating a return to the old subsidy regime, but wanted Nigerians to derive greater benefits from the country’s crude oil resources. “His argument is that Nigeria owns its crude oil resources and should ensure that Nigerians benefit from those resources before they are sold on the international market.
“If crude oil is produced in Nigeria, Nigerians should not have to buy petroleum products as though the crude has travelled around the world before returning to the country. “The Nigerian people should benefit from the resources extracted from their own soil,that is the fundamental principle behind his position on fuel pricing,” Adeoye said.
He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) should play a stronger role in protecting Nigeria’s interests and ensuring that citizens derived maximum benefit from the country’s natural resources.
Adeoye said the APM presidential manifesto, which he said would be released soon, would explain how Nigerians could benefit more from the country’s oil resources and how the party intended to implement its policies. He said the manifesto would be made public to enable Nigerians to hold the party accountable for its campaign promises.
On security, Adeoye commended Makinde for his role in the rescue of kidnapped schoolchildren in Oyo State, saying the governor had provided leadership and resources during the incident. “During that period, I had the opportunity to engage with him personally. I saw how emotionally affected he was by the incident and how seriously he treated the situation.
“He convened meetings with the state security apparatus, received direct reports, deployed resources and provided logistics to security agencies involved in the operation. “Nigerians saw many of these efforts, and they know the role he played in the eventual release of the children,” he said.
Adeoye said the experience further strengthened APM’s support for state, community and decentralised policing to enable governors to exercise greater responsibility for security. He dismissed suggestions that Makinde was contesting the presidency merely to distract President Tinubu or reduce his votes in the South-West, saying the governor was determined to win the election.
“It is incorrect to suggest that Governor Makinde is contesting the presidency merely to distract President Tinubu or reduce his votes in the South-West. “ Makinde genuinely believes he can win the presidential election. He has told us about how, when he first expressed his intention to contest for governor, some of his friends made jokes about the idea.
“They did not believe he could become governor. But he persisted, contested and eventually became governor,” Adeoye said. He said Makinde had demonstrated seriousness by travelling across the country, holding town hall meetings and engaging Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones.
“Today, among the presidential candidates, he is actively travelling across the country, holding town hall meetings and engaging directly with Nigerians.
“He is moving across the six geopolitical zones, listening to the people, understanding their concerns and allowing them to participate in the political process. “Someone who is not serious about winning an election would not undertake this level of engagement,” he said.
Adeoye also said the APM administration would pursue an ambitious four-year development programme for Lagos if elected in the 2027 governorship election. He identified housing, food security, education, infrastructure and other social challenges as areas requiring urgent attention, promising targeted free education for students.
“Within our first four years, we intend to make Lagos one of the three best-performing states in Nigeria in terms of educational outcomes, particularly in public examinations such as WAEC and NECO.
“These are measurable objectives that we intend to pursue. At the end of the four years, Lagosians will have the opportunity to decide whether they want us to continue or elect another government. “Our politics is based on the will of the people. We do not believe in forcing ourselves on the people or using power to impose leaders on them,” Adeoye said.
He said the party would also pursue greater administrative decentralisation through the constitutional recognition of Lagos State’s Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) as full local governments. Adeoye said such decentralisation would bring governance closer to the people, improve service delivery and create opportunities for economic expansion across the state.
He said the proposed administration would work with the Federal Government and National Assembly to pursue the constitutional process required for the creation and recognition of additional local governments. Adeoye also identified indiscriminate refuse disposal, blocked drainage channels and flooding as major challenges confronting Lagos, saying they required comprehensive and sustainable solutions.
