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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The historic Mapo Hill shook to its foundations on Thursday, May 14, 2026, as Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State fired the starting gun for the 2027 political season with his declaration to contest next year’s presidential poll on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
Though the programme was billed as a ‘Unity Mega Rally’, it rapidly transformed into a high-octane launchpad for a new national movement, as a powerhouse faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APM moved towards formalising a formidable strategic alliance.
The ancient Mapo Hall Arcade was draped in a sea of party colours and echoed with the roar of thousands. It served as the theatre for what analysts are already branding as a new form of Ibadan Declaration.
Governor Makinde, clad in a symbolic attire of blue jeans, white T-shirt and blue cap, was flanked by a massive surge of ‘Makinde-for-President’ volunteers.
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Before Makinde formally uttered the word ‘presidential’, the air was thick with the scent of a national bid.
As gathered, the strategic alignment with the APM signals a calculated move to build a cross-party bridge and position Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, once again as the heartbeat of South West and national politics.
The alliance further flexed its muscles by announcing that a full slate of candidates for the presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives, and Houses of Assembly elections would be presented for the 2027 general elections.
The rally drew a who’s who of the political class from Oyo State and beyond.
