Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State worked against his political party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), at the presidential and federal legislative elections on 25 February. Now that he’s up for re-election, he hopes voters will support the PDP this time round. Will his gamble backfire?
It is almost suicidal in politics anywhere in the world for a governor seeking re-election to work against the success of his political party in an election season.
However, last month, Governor Makinde did exactly that. Not only did he refuse to campaign for PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, he also constantly told the people to “vote for the unity of Nigeria”, a euphemism for ‘do not vote a northerner’.