The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, has rejected calls for a return to the old fuel subsidy regime, saying his proposed petrol pricing framework would instead ensure that Nigeria’s crude oil gives measurable benefits to Nigerians.
His position on fuel subsidy sharply contrasts to that of the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who has canvassed a modified return to the subsidy regime.
Makinde spoke on Monday in Abuja at the commissioning of the APM campaign office, where he formally invited Nigerians to join his “Reset Nigeria” campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said his position was to ensure that crude supplied to Nigerian refineries was priced differently from imported crude, arguing that Nigerians should not pay international-equivalent costs for a resource produced within the country.
“Nigeria’s oil must provide a real and measurable benefit to Nigerians,” Makinde said, stressing that such benefits should be built into the system through the price of crude supplied for domestic refining rather than through “an opaque intervention at the petrol pump.”
The APM candidate also demanded greater transparency across the petroleum value chain, covering crude production and allocation, refining, transportation, distribution, taxation and retail margins.
According to him, Nigerians should be able to understand how petrol prices are determined, “who receives what and where inefficiencies are increasing the final price.”
Makinde said the broader objective of his “Reset Nigeria” agenda was to build a country where government decisions and the use of public resources were transparent and accountable.
He dismissed suggestions that his presidential campaign was insignificant, recalling that similar doubts were expressed when he first contested the Oyo governorship.
“When they say today that this campaign does not count, I do not take it personally,” he said, arguing that dismissing his campaign amounted to dismissing the aspirations of millions of Nigerians struggling with rising prices, unemployment and increasing business costs.
Makinde said the campaign would therefore extend beyond politicians to traders, farmers, workers, business owners and young Nigerians, urging them to participate in shaping the APM agenda.
“We count. Our voices count. Our experiences count. Our ideas count. And, together, our votes will count,” he declared.
He urged Nigerians to join the “Reset Nigeria” movement, interrogate the party’s ideas and organise the grassroots, insisting that millions of citizens united behind a better future could not be ignored.
“This is our country. These are our resources. We count. And together, we will Reset Nigeria,” Makinde said.
Also speaking at the event, the
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, declared that the APM is poised to offer Nigerians a new leadership direction, describing its presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, as a credible leader capable of resetting the country.
Mohammed said Makinde had demonstrated the ability to mobilise people and resources for development despite limited resources.
He said the APM candidate’s experience in the public and private sectors, coupled with his knowledge of governance, positioned him to lead Nigeria.
“Our motto is Nigeria First. And Nigeria is what is in our mind. It is with Nigeria that we sleep, and it is with Nigeria that we wake up,” he said.
Mohammed said the party had embraced fairness and political rotation by moving its presidential ticket to the South, expressing confidence that Nigerians would be “pleasantly surprised” by Makinde’s performance.
He added that the APM would engage Nigerians across the country in its bid to build a nation where everyone, regardless of age or status, could realise their aspirations.
Speaking in a similar vein, the APM vice presidential candidate, Lawal Daura said the party’s presidential ticket was committed to serious business and would not treat Nigeria’s future as a joke.
Daura urged politicians to recognise the size and importance of Nigeria and distinguish between “eligibility and electability,” stressing that while some candidates might meet constitutional requirements, they might not be capable of winning the confidence of voters.
The ex DSS chief also called for issue-based campaigns rather than attacks on political opponents, as he appealed to opposition parties to cooperate in the national interest, arguing that collaboration should not be mistaken for weakness or political naivety.
“We are here for serious business. And that serious business is supposed to benefit the entire Nigerian population,”
Daura challenged political opponents to engage the APM in robust debates during the campaign.
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, who attended the event, said he was in solidarity with the APM, saying Nigerians must be allowed to choose their leaders freely.
Obi said Makinde was qualified to contest the presidency, stressing that his presence at the APM campaign headquarters was aimed at demonstrating that opposition politics could be conducted without desperation.
The NDC candidate declared that whoever emerged victorious would receive the cooperation of others to rebuild the country.
“We can’t all continue the way we are going today. Our people are hungry. Our people are poor. Our people are insecure,” he said.
He called for a new political culture focused on solving Nigeria’s problems rather than quarrelling and attacking opponents.
“Let our quarrel be to feed our people. Let our quarrel be to pull our people out of poverty,” Obi said, adding that the ultimate goal should be a Nigeria where “a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody.”