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Makinde: Under My Government We Won’t Need to Travel to Pray for Nigeria
• Tinubu departs for Makkah, to pray for nation’s peace, stability
Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Gideon Arinze in Enugu
The presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, yesterday said his administration will focus on addressing Nigeria’s challenges rather than leaving the country to seek solutions abroad.
Makinde spoke in Enugu during the Southeast town hall meeting of the Makinde-Daura 2027 presidential campaign, where he also announced that the party’s manifesto would be unveiled on November 4, 2026.
He was reacting to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that President Bola Tinubu was travelling to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria.
“Prayers are answered even in the country. Under my administration, we will stay here and fix the country. Leaders need to stop all the deceit and tell the people the true situation of things so that we will not be praying in vain,” he said.
Makinde questioned the country’s continued borrowing despite what he described as sufficient external reserves and revenue generation, adding that his administration would reset the economy, security architecture, education system and socio-political space, while creating opportunities and tackling poverty.
The presidential candidate also announced a partnership with Skill Reset Nigeria to train one million youths in skills that would improve their employment prospects. He added that his administration would create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, describing this as essential to boosting the economy.
In his address, the vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, said the party was not just coming to try. “We are coming to fix the country and the many issues bedevilling it. With your support, we will end the sufferings of the Nigerian people,” he said.
The Southeast Zonal Director of the Makinde-Daura Campaign Organisation, Daniel Obiechima, said the turnout at the meeting demonstrated public support for the ticket and readiness to back the candidates in the 2027 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Tinubu on Thursday afternoon departed the nation’s capital, Abuja for Makkah, Saudi Arabia, to perform Umrah pilgrimage. During the exercise also known as lesser Hajj, Tinubu said he will offer prayers for Nigeria’s peace, national unity, stability and sustained development.
The President’s plane, Nigeria Air Force 1, took off from the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at approximately 2:20 p.m, after a brief departure ceremony attended by state governors and some top government officials who were on ground to see him off.
Ahead of his departure, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria, Yousef Bin Mohammed Al-Balawi, presented the President with a Bisht, a traditional Arabian ceremonial cloak, on behalf of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Also on ground at the airport to see the President off were Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; his Yobe and Borno states counterparts, Mai Mala Buni; and Babagana Zulum respectively.
Others were Governors of Kaduna, Uba Sani; Jigawa, Umar Namadi; Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto;
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate; and the member representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Babajimi Benson.
The Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, Ambassador Reno Omokri, and Director of Protocol at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Sule Dan Agundi, also attended the departure ceremony.
Presidential spokesperson, Onanuga, had on Wednesday confirmed the planned journey via a statement issued indicating that Tinubu was due back in Nigeria next week upon completion of the religious exercise.
He said Tinubu’s visit will provide him an opportunity for spiritual reflection and devotion, while he undertakes the religious rites associated with Umrah and seeks divine guidance and blessings for Nigerians.
