The Director-General of the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation, Felix Hyat, has expressed confidence that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde can address Nigeria’s security and economic challenges, urging Nigerians to support the Allied Peoples Movement ticket ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Hyat spoke on Wednesday in Abuja during the inauguration of state coordinators for the campaign organisation in the North-Central zone, where he charged the newly appointed officials to intensify grassroots mobilisation and build support for Makinde and his running mate, Lawal Daura.
He said the campaign must begin at polling units and extend through wards, local government areas and states, arguing that electoral success would depend on the organisation’s ability to connect with voters at the grassroots.
“This journey begins at the polling units and moves to the ward headquarters, local government headquarters, state headquarters and, ultimately, the national level. Politics is local, and our work must be localised,” Hyat said.
He described the Makinde/Daura ticket as capable of providing the leadership needed to address the country’s problems, particularly insecurity and economic hardship.
Hyat also stressed the importance of cooperation between the campaign organisation, the party’s leadership and its candidates, warning that campaign officials must respect established party structures while working towards their electoral objectives.
He identified polling agents as a critical component of the campaign, cautioning coordinators against appointing people who lack the competence or commitment required to protect the party’s interests on election day.
“Elections are fought, won and lost at the polling units. Our polling unit managers and agents can determine our fate,” he said.
The campaign DG urged the coordinators to take the party’s message directly to communities, arguing that voters should assess political representatives based on their performance and explanations for the country’s current difficulties.
Hyat also defended Makinde’s credentials, describing him as a capable leader with experience in security matters and governance.
“Nigerians should have nothing to fear about the candidature of Governor Seyi Makinde,” he said, adding that the country needed a president capable of working without excessive dependence on medical assistance.
His comments appeared to be a reference to the health and physical capacity of political leaders, although he did not identify any individual presidential candidate in the remarks provided.
The campaign’s Deputy Director-General for Operations, Tony Aziegbemi, also urged the coordinators to strengthen their mobilisation efforts, describing them as field leaders responsible for communicating the ticket’s positions on the economy, education, security and governance.
Aziegbemi criticised the economic policies of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government, arguing that they had worsened hunger and poverty.
He claimed that 35 million Nigerians went to bed hungry every night and attributed the figure to the National Bureau of Statistics. However, the campaign did not identify the specific NBS report supporting that figure, and the statistic could not be independently verified against a clearly identified publication.
Aziegbemi said the campaign intended to reach at least 15 million people affected by hunger through its mobilisation efforts.
He promised that a Makinde/Daura administration would prioritise measures to tackle hunger and poverty, although the remarks provided did not outline specific policy proposals, funding arrangements or implementation timelines.
The campaign’s latest mobilisation drive follows the establishment of its national campaign management structure in preparation for the 2027 general election. Makinde appointed Hyat to lead the campaign organisation in September.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6.
With the election approaching, the campaign faces the task of translating its message of national renewal into a clearly articulated policy programme and an effective nationwide organisation.
For the newly inaugurated North-Central coordinators, Hyat’s immediate directive was to strengthen local structures, identify capable polling agents and take the campaign’s message to voters across the region.
