Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has chosen former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.

Makinde announced Daura’s selection yesterday at the APM’s elective National Convention in Bauchi, where he also urged opposition parties to unite in offering Nigerians a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 general election.

The governor said the opposition’s responsibility went beyond defeating the ruling party, arguing that its greater task was to give Nigerians a genuine choice about the country’s future and demonstrate how an alternative government would improve their lives.

“As we approach 2027, therefore, I believe the task before all of us is bigger than winning an election. It is to give Nigerians a real choice about the future of their country,”

Congratulating the newly elected national officers of the APM, Makinde said the party had rapidly emerged as an opposition force to reckon with.

He urged the new leadership to work with other opposition parties, stressing that a credible opposition was essential to sustaining democracy.

“As I said during the Ibadan Declaration in April this year, the presence of credible opposition is what sustains democracy.

“So, our new leaders must be ready to work with other opposition parties to ensure that we give Nigerians a credible alternative in the 2027 general election.”

Makinde said the 2027 campaign would likely be dominated by political slogans, promises and policy declarations, but urged voters to assess candidates based on measurable outcomes rather than announcements.

“The 2027 election must be an election about outcomes. For too long, we have measured governance by announcements. We are presented with policy after policy, rather than evidence of whether those policies have made people’s lives better.”

Using the experience of ordinary Nigerians at the market as an example, he said economic policies should ultimately be judged by their effect on purchasing power rather than official statistics.

“When our mothers go to the market, they don’t experience economic policy as a statistic. They experience it in what their money can buy. How much rice, beans and gari they can take home.”

He said young Nigerians would similarly assess employment policies based on whether they could secure productive jobs and build independent lives, while farmers would judge agricultural policies by productivity, access to markets and improved livelihoods.

On security, Makinde said government performance should be measured by whether citizens could travel, work, farm and sleep without fear, rather than by the number of security meetings held by officials.

“Families do not judge security by the number of meetings the government has held. They judge it by whether they can travel, farm, work and sleep with their two eyes closed.”

According to him, the central question for the 2027 election should be the actual impact of governance on Nigerians’ lives.

“The question before Nigeria in 2027 should not simply be: What has the government done? It should be: What has changed for Nigerians?”

Makinde added that opposition candidates must also be scrutinised and explain what they intended to do differently, as well as the measurable improvements Nigerians should expect under their leadership.

He said his administration had applied the same approach in Oyo State, where government performance was measured by its impact on citizens rather than the number of projects announced.

The governor identified poverty reduction, job creation, education, healthcare and security as key issues that should dominate the 2027 political debate.

“We must talk about an economy that moves over 140 million Nigerians currently living in poverty towards prosperity.

“We must talk about creating productive jobs and opportunities for our young people in a country where over 60 percent of the population is young.

“We must talk about education that prepares our children for the economy they will inherit. Healthcare that people can access. And security that protects Nigerians wherever they live.”

Makinde also renewed his call for the restructuring of the Nigerian federation, advocating the devolution of more powers, responsibilities and resources to state and local governments.

He argued that Nigeria could not maximise its potential under a system where decisions that should be taken at the state or local level must first await approval from Abuja.

“Nigeria cannot achieve its full potential when decisions that should be taken in Osun, Kano, Cross River or Enugu must first wait for Abuja.”