Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has forcefully shut down speculation that his recent closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu was a prelude to dumping the Peoples Democratic Party for the ruling APC, insisting there is no defection agenda — now or in the near future.
Speaking shortly after his January 22, 2026 meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Makinde delivered an unusually direct denial, clearly aware of the political firestorm the visit had ignited.
“I am staying in PDP. I have no plans to defect,” the governor said flatly. “I remain committed to the ideals of the PDP and to serving the people of Oyo State on that platform.”
The clarification follows a wave of intense speculation after Tinubu hosted Makinde and Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang in separate meetings on the same day — a coincidence many political observers interpreted as part of a broader APC strategy to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Makinde has long been viewed as one of the most politically valuable assets in the PDP: electorally strong, financially independent, and largely insulated from Abuja power games. His refusal to submit to internal PDP factions, particularly the Wike bloc, has kept defection rumours alive for years. His occasional public support for select federal policies only added fuel to the fire.
But the governor dismissed the narrative that his Villa visit carried partisan undertones, describing it instead as routine intergovernmental engagement focused on infrastructure, security cooperation, and development priorities for Oyo State.
“Governors meeting with the President is normal,” Makinde said. “It does not automatically translate to party switching. We must separate governance from speculation.”
His statement will calm nerves within a PDP already bruised by internal fractures, electoral losses, and repeated defections to the APC. Oyo remains one of the party’s few reliably governed states, and Makinde’s exit would have been a symbolic and strategic blow.
Still, Nigerian politics has trained the public to treat political denials with caution. History is littered with leaders who defected months after issuing similar assurances. Makinde’s words draw a clear line for now — but whether that line holds under sustained pressure from a presidency aggressively consolidating power remains an open question.
For the moment, Makinde has spoken plainly. He is not crossing over. The courtship may continue, but the door — at least publicly — is shut.
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