Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement, APM, presidential candidate Seyi Makinde has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term, citing a promise the President made about electricity supply during the 2023 election campaign.
Makinde spoke on Monday at the Boye Nation/JAF Movement Mega Concert at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan, where he responded to criticism over the use of diesel-powered generators to illuminate some streetlights in Oyo State.
The criticism came from Oyo State APC governorship candidate Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who questioned the use of diesel generators for street lighting.
In response, Makinde argued that the use of generators was linked to the reliability of electricity from the national grid.
He recalled a statement attributed to Tinubu during the 2023 presidential campaign, when the then-candidate said Nigerians should not vote for him for a second term if he failed to provide constant electricity within his first four years in office. Contemporary reports and recordings of the statement show Tinubu making the pledge.
“Tell them their father and boss was the one who said if he doesn’t fix the light all over Nigeria within his first four years, no one should vote for him again,” Makinde said.
He argued that if Nigeria had achieved reliable electricity supply as referenced in the campaign promise, state governments would not need to spend money on diesel to operate streetlights.
Makinde’s remarks effectively linked the continuing power challenges to his argument against Tinubu’s second-term bid.
The governor’s comments come as political parties and presidential candidates intensify activities ahead of the 2027 general elections. Makinde is contesting the presidential election under the APM, while Tinubu is seeking another term under the All Progressives Congress.
The interpretation of Tinubu’s 2023 statement has previously been disputed by the Presidency. In June, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the President’s comments had been taken out of context, arguing that Tinubu had made a conditional statement about electricity rather than an unconditional promise to withdraw from a second-term contest.
Makinde’s latest comments also came at an event where thousands of supporters led by Ajiboye Akande Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, formally moved from the APC into the APM. Sangogade is an ally and former personal assistant to former Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu.
Makinde has also urged Alli to focus his political campaign on the APM’s Oyo State governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, rather than his administration.
“President Tinubu deserves no second term because he once said that if electricity is not fixed, Nigerians should not vote for him.”
— APM presidential candidate and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, speaking today. pic.twitter.com/zJN2FkzSp1
— CHUKS 🍥 (@ChuksEricE) September 21, 2026
The electricity debate remains part of the wider political discussion ahead of 2027, with the performance of Nigeria’s power sector and the government’s efforts to improve generation, transmission and distribution likely to remain issues raised by political parties and candidates
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