The Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, has urged Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to join the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Goronyo made the appeal on Monday during the flag-off of the dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu Road in Ogun State. Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun represented President Bola Tinubu at the event.
Goronyo asks Makinde to align with Tinubu
The minister said Makinde’s decision to join the APC would bring Oyo State closer to the Federal Government and allow it to benefit from the infrastructure and development projects of the Tinubu administration. Goronyo described the APC as a “progressive banner” and openly invited the Oyo governor to join the ruling party.
“I therefore warmly welcome and openly invite His Excellency the Governor of Oyo State, Mr Engineer Seyi Makinde, to take the natural giant step into the All Progressives Congress, the APC,” he said.
He added:
“Come and align Oyo State fully with the centre under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The appeal came as federal and state officials gathered for the commencement of the Ibadan-Ijebu Road dualisation project, which is expected to improve connectivity between Oyo and Ogun states.
Makinde pursuing 2027 presidency under APM
Makinde was not present at the ceremony. His political position also makes Goronyo’s appeal significant. The Oyo governor is now seeking the presidency in 2027 under the Allied Peoples Movement. At the APM national convention in Bauchi on August 13, the party formally presented Makinde as its presidential candidate and former Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, as his running mate.
Makinde has positioned the APM as a political alternative ahead of the 2027 election. He has spoken about the need for practical solutions to Nigeria’s economic and security challenges, while also advocating greater devolution of powers to the states. The APM’s own campaign platform continues to present the Makinde-Daura ticket as an alternative to the APC-led Federal Government.
Why the APC invitation matters
Goronyo’s appeal is more than a routine invitation to a politician to change parties. It comes at a time when Nigeria’s political landscape is already beginning to take shape ahead of 2027. Makinde joining the APC would represent a major political shift. It could also strengthen the ruling party’s position in Oyo State and potentially alter the calculations around the South-West.
However, the governor’s recent actions point in the opposite direction. Rather than moving towards the APC, Makinde has accepted the APM presidential ticket and is actively building a national political platform with Daura as his running mate. That makes the minister’s invitation politically interesting, but there is no indication from the material available that Makinde intends to accept it.
Infrastructure and politics collide
The invitation was made at an event centred on infrastructure development, particularly the dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu Road.
Goronyo used the occasion to highlight the Federal Government’s infrastructure programme and argue that closer alignment with the centre could benefit Oyo State. That argument is likely to remain part of the political conversation as the 2027 election approaches. Federal projects, access to resources and cooperation between state governments and Abuja are already important issues in Nigeria’s political debate.
For Makinde, however, the decision is bigger than access to federal projects. His current presidential ambition places him directly within the contest for the country’s highest political office.
The event was attended by Works Minister Dave Umahi, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rasheed Ladoja, Ogun State Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele and the APC governorship candidate in Oyo State, Sharafadeen Abiodun Ali.
