The campaign organisation backing Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential bid has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led administration of worsening hunger and poverty, claiming that 35 million Nigerians go to bed hungry every night.
The Director-General of the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation, Felix Hassan Hyat, made the allegation in Abuja during the inauguration of the group’s North-Central state coordinators ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Hyat also accused Tinubu of wielding excessive influence over the National Assembly, warning that the situation could weaken legislative oversight and accountability.
He argued that elected lawmakers should remain answerable to their constituents rather than prioritise the interests of the President or their political parties.
“If our representatives, who are answerable to the people who elected them, now claim to stand on President Tinubu’s mandate, they should remember that it was the people who gave them their votes. Whose mandate, then, are they supposed to stand on?” he asked.
Hyat urged the newly inaugurated coordinators to take Makinde’s message to households and polling units, saying grassroots mobilisation would be crucial to the campaign’s chances.
He cited the country’s economic difficulties, insecurity and what he described as the failure of some elected representatives to defend their constituents’ interests as reasons for a change in leadership.
The campaign director-general acknowledged the challenge of contesting against an incumbent administration with substantial political and institutional resources but urged his team to remain united.
“The 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,” he said.
Earlier, the organisation’s Deputy Director of Operations, Tony Aziegbemi, identified the economy, education, security and the country’s socio-political system as the four main pillars of Makinde’s proposed presidential agenda.
Aziegbemi criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, arguing that they had contributed to rising living costs.
He said the campaign would target at least 15 million Nigerians affected by hunger and economic hardship, promising that a Makinde/Daura administration would prioritise food security and poverty reduction.
“We promise that we will put food on their tables. We promise that they will never go to bed hungry under the Makinde/Daura presidency,” he said.
Aziegbemi maintained that the economic hardship facing Nigerians should not be attributed to a lack of effort by citizens but to policies that, in his view, had failed to protect vulnerable households.
He directed the state coordinators to compile lists of house-to-house canvassers and polling unit agents within two weeks, saying the campaign would assess their progress.
Responding on behalf of the state directors, Kogi State coordinator Usman Danladi Ibrahim pledged immediate mobilisation across the North-Central zone and called for logistical support to carry out the assignment.
The inauguration forms part of the organisation’s preparations to expand its grassroots presence ahead of the 2027 election. The claims about hunger and the impact of government policies were allegations by the campaign organisation.
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