By Ayomide Otitoju
The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has called for greater transparency in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, saying the country’s crude oil resources must deliver measurable benefits to Nigerians.
Makinde, who is also the Governor of Oyo State, made the call on Monday at the commissioning of the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Office in Abuja.
He said transparency should cover the entire petroleum value chain, including crude oil production and domestic allocation, refining, transportation, distribution, taxation and retail margins.
Makinde argued that Nigerians should not pay international-equivalent prices for crude supplied to local refineries when the commodity is produced domestically.
“If a community grows food, the people of that community should not have to buy that food as though it travelled halfway around the world before reaching them. So, why should crude oil supplied to Nigerian refineries be priced as though Nigeria does not produce crude oil?” he asked.
The APM candidate said the benefits of Nigeria’s crude resources should be incorporated into the system from the outset through the price of crude supplied for domestic refining, rather than through what he described as opaque interventions at the petrol pump after other costs and inefficiencies had accumulated.
“That benefit should be built into the system from the beginning, through the price at which crude oil is supplied for domestic refining — not through an opaque intervention at the petrol pump after all the costs, inefficiencies and distortions have been added,” he said.
Makinde said his “Reset Nigeria” agenda was designed to dismantle opaque systems and rebuild public confidence in government.
“Government must show its workings. Nigerians must be able to see how decisions are made and how national resources are managed,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to join the Reset Nigeria movement, stressing that the initiative should extend beyond political circles to communities and everyday economic activities.
“Reset Nigeria cannot be a conversation among politicians alone. It must become a conversation in our homes, markets, schools, offices, farms, factories and communities,” Makinde said.
He said the movement sought to hear from traders affected by rising transport costs, farmers struggling to move their produce to markets, business owners facing increased operating costs and young Nigerians seeking better economic opportunities.
“Our doors are open to Nigerians who believe that our country can work better than it does today. So, I invite you: join the Reset Nigeria conversation,” he added.
Earlier, the APM National Leader and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, endorsed Makinde’s economic vision and leadership capacity.
Mohammed said the party was determined to reset Nigeria and described Makinde as one of the best human resources the country had produced.
“Whoever disregards us is at his own peril. We are here to Reset Nigeria and we are bringing in one of the best human capitals this country has produced — that is Makinde,” he said.
He praised Makinde’s record in Oyo State, describing him as “a mobilizer, a manager of resources, an engineer par excellence” who had achieved significant results with limited resources.
Mohammed also said the Abuja campaign office, which he noted was provided solely by Makinde, demonstrated the candidate’s seriousness and preparedness for the national task ahead.
The APM National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, said the Reset Nigeria project was aimed at rescuing a country that had drifted, while building a political platform where competence, rather than ethnicity or religion, would determine leadership.
Dantalle described the campaign office as the “engine room” of the party’s 2027 election campaign and said the APM had fielded credible candidates across the country.
He said the Makinde/Daura ticket offered Nigerians hope for improved governance, national security, economic prosperity and socio-religious harmony.
“Rest assured that Makinde will be President to all Nigerians as he has ably demonstrated as Governor of Oyo State,” Dantalle said.
He added that the party’s vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, would help tackle insecurity based on his experience as a former head of a critical security agency.
Dantalle pledged that the APM would run an issue-based campaign focused on practical solutions, competence and Nigeria’s future rather than politics of bitterness, division and hatred.
“This is our chance to build a strong, stable, united, prosperous, inclusive and just democratic society,” he said.
In a goodwill message, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, said Makinde was qualified to become Nigeria’s president.
Obi said his presence at the event demonstrated that politicians belonging to different parties were not necessarily enemies, adding that opposition parties would work together to build a new Nigeria.
Similarly, the Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees and former Niger State Governor, Aliyu Babangida, called for greater collaboration among opposition parties to rescue the country.
Babangida said opposition parties were working towards supporting a single candidate and would focus on a candidate from southern Nigeria, arguing that the North had already produced the president for eight years.
The event was attended by Daura, the APM vice-presidential candidate; former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola; national and state lawmakers; members of the APM Board of Trustees and National Working Committee, as well as other party supporters and dignitaries.
