Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said politics remains a game of interest, but interest of all concerned must be factored in any political move.
Naija News reported that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, in its last meeting in Ibadan, dissociated the party from any coalition ahead of 2027.
Speaking with the Nation, Makinde said the party was not well informed on what it stands to benefit from coalition to unseat the current administration.
“Politics is a game of interest. You must be interested; you must have alignment with the wider organs of your party before you go out to meet other people. If you remember in 2019, even here in Oyo State with my election, we went into coalition with parties. But, the organs of the party in Oyo State and myself, as the candidate of the party were in agreement. And when we became successful, it was not difficult for me to cede positions to parties that were within that coalition. That was possible because we followed the process.
“We didn’t just wake up and say me as xyz in the party, just draw the party into any arrangements when the party organs do not have clue on what you are doing. They have no clue of what is in this coalition for them. They also have no clue whether this is personal or you are doing this in the best interest of the party and the people of Nigeria. Those are critical,” he said.
The Governor of Oyo refuted that the governors opposed the coalition move because they were working for President Bola Tinubu‘s second tenure.
While not dismissing the rights of individual members of the party to associate with any group, he said the party has yet to be informed what it would gain from the coalition.
“I totally disagree with those insinuations. First, there must be a process. If the managers of the party, the organs of the party are going into a merger or coalition, there’s a need for the managers of the party to know. But, it is still within the right of individuals to associate with whoever they want to associate with. But, as a party, we haven’t gotten there,” he stated.