From left, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed; APM presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde; APM vice-presidential candidate, Lawan Musa Daura, and others at the APM National Convention in Bauchi on Thursday. Photo: Ishola Michael
From left, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed; APM presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde; APM vice-presidential candidate, Lawan Musa Daura, and others at the APM National Convention in Bauchi on Thursday. Photo: Ishola Michael
The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, recently unveiled the former DSS Director-General Lawal Daura as his running mate for the 2027 general election. ISHOLA MICHAEL reports on the party’s strategy, the thinking behind the ticket and its challenge to President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has raised the stakes in the battle for the presidency in 2027, pairing Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, with former Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Alhaji Lawan Musa Daura, in what the opposition party says is a combination of governance experience and security expertise to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Makinde-Daura ticket emerged on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at the APM Elective National Convention in Bauchi, where politicians and party members from across the country gathered to map out a strategy for wresting power from the APC in next year’s general elections.
While Makinde is being projected by the party on the strength of his record as Oyo State governor, Daura, who headed the SSS between 2015 and 2018, brings to the ticket decades of intelligence and security experience. His emergence as running mate gives the APM campaign a security dimension at a time when insecurity remains one of the major issues expected to define the 2027 presidential contest.
The convention formally affirmed Makinde as the party’s presidential candidate before delegates unanimously ratified Daura as his running mate, signalling what party leaders described as their readiness to give the ruling APC a serious fight for the presidency.
The choice of the former spymaster was deliberate. According to party leaders, Makinde wanted a running mate with extensive knowledge of Nigeria’s security architecture and the experience required to confront the country’s persistent security challenges.
The convention also strengthened the political structure behind the Makinde-Daura ticket. Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, was unanimously approved as National Leader of the APM, while delegates retained the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Yusuf Mamman Dantalle as National Chairman for another three years.
With two serving governors, a former intelligence chief and the party machinery now assembled behind the presidential ticket, the APM used the Bauchi convention to present itself as an emerging opposition force capable of confronting the APC in 2027.
In his post-election speech, the re-elected National Chairman of APM, Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said: “I stand before you with a profound sense of humility, gratitude, and responsibility to accept the great honour and renewed mandate you have bestowed upon me as the National Chairman of our great party, the Allied Peoples Movement, for a second term in office.”
He added: “I am deeply humbled by your trust and confidence in my leadership. I am not taking it for granted. This mandate is not merely a personal honour; it is a solemn responsibility and a renewed call to service, our shared vision, and our determination to position the Allied Peoples Movement as a formidable political platform capable of responding effectively to the yearnings and aspirations of all Nigerians.”
“I therefore congratulate all the national officers elected to work with me. Your election represents a vote of confidence in our collective capacity to consolidate the achievements of the past and chart a new and more ambitious course in the future. We have stood together through challenging and turbulent times,” he added.
He said: “Through it all, you demonstrated remarkable courage, loyalty, and faith in our party. For this, I sincerely commend and appreciate every one of you. Today, we have opened a new chapter in the history of the Allied Peoples Movement. Most importantly, I want to sincerely appreciate our presidential candidate and the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, and the host Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, and leader of our party, for their immense contributions to making this exercise a success.”
He assured: “I pledge to rededicate myself to the task of building an even stronger, more cohesive, disciplined, and progressive political party, one that Nigerians can trust and identify with.”
According to him: “A party that will provide credible leadership, translate the dividends of democracy into tangible improvement in the lives of our people. I wish to sincerely commend the National Convention Planning Committee for the excellent organisation of this convention. The peaceful, orderly, and transparent manner in which this elective convention has been conducted is a testament to the maturity, discipline, and democratic credentials of our great party.”
He also commended the party leaders, delegates, members, volunteers and everyone who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the convention, saying: “Your commitment has demonstrated that when we put the interests of the party and our nation above personal consideration, there is nothing that we cannot achieve together.”
Dantalle then declared: “Indeed, it is a new dawn for APM, and as we commence this new chapter, we shall hit the ground running.
We will expand our membership base, strengthen our structure across the country, deepen internal democracy, enhance grassroots mobilisation, and take our message to every community in Nigeria.”
According to him: “Our manifesto remains our social contract with the Nigerian people. It embodies our vision for a better Nigeria and places the national interest above narrow personal and sectional interests. I also want to tell the women, listen and listen very carefully.”
He stressed: “In the new Nigeria about to be established, APM women have a strategic position in this government, in this party. We will not take you for granted. Your rightful place in the scheme of affairs will naturally be given to you. You are not meant to be slaves but to complement our men. We will not disappoint you.”
“And for Nigerian youths, get ready. APM is not coming to give you rice and bread with stickers, posters, or some wrappers. We are going to empower you, establishing the atmosphere that you need to feed yourself and get for yourself what you want. No more wuru, no more lie lie.”
He declared: “In 2027, APM will reset Nigeria. APM believes that Nigeria must come first. Our commitment is to build a nation where democracy delivers development, where leadership is accountable, where citizens have opportunities to prosper, where the rule of law is respected, and where every Nigerian can look to the future with renewed hope and confidence.”
According to him: “It is in pursuit of this vision that the party has fielded credible and capable candidates for various elective offices across the country. Our presidential candidate, Governor Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, is eminently qualified to seek the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. His record of governance in Oyo State demonstrates capacity, experience, inclusive leadership, and a commitment to development.”
“I want to give you an example. They are to do something, and somebody asked a question. And the Governor, our presidential candidate, challenged everyone there. Go to this road, go to this hospital, go to this school, go everywhere and see what we have done for the people,” he added.
The APM National Chairman expressed confidence that the party would emerge victorious across the country in the 2027 general elections.
Bala Mohammed, who emerged from the convention as the party’s National Leader, was particularly emphatic about the thinking behind putting a former intelligence chief on the presidential ticket.
“The problem of Nigeria, you have told me, is about insecurity, and he needed a security guru to be his deputy. And there is no better person in Nigeria than the former DSS Director-General of Nigeria, Alhaji Lawal Daura. We are putting square pegs in square holes,” Mohammed said.
The Bauchi governor argued that the backgrounds of Makinde and Daura complemented each other, describing the presidential candidate as an engineer capable of planning and execution and his running mate as a security professional equipped to confront insecurity.
“Our presidential candidate is an engineer by profession.
He knows how to manufacture, he knows how to develop, he knows how to draw, plan and execute. And we as administrators are behind them to give them the leeway so that we can carry everybody along,” he said.
Earlier, Mohammed had expressed appreciation for his emergence as National Leader, saying: “I am highly delighted on behalf of myself, my dear wife, and indeed my family, and the people and government of Bauchi State, especially the APM chapter, for being given the responsibility of being the national leader of this very, very popular political party, APM.”
He said: “And it is diametrically opposed to the complex challenges of Nigeria, challenges of hunger, challenges of lack of unity, challenges of insecurity, challenges of local resilience that the cassava symbolises. I’m happy to be in this party because you have given us a stake, me and my brother, the presidential candidate. And you have the modesty and humility to give us big responsibilities.”
According to him: “Yes, we have two governors who joined you, but the recognition you have given us is going to give us a lot of challenges and will spur us to do more for you. By the grace of God, we will not disappoint you. We will support our presidential candidate by all means, and that is why you can see the way we have started.”
“I assure you we will open our plans to accommodate everybody and to give you the leadership that you have given me. May God bless this party. May God bless Nigeria. And may Allah open the eyes of Nigerians to elect Seyi Makinde and Lawal Daura to the presidency, and they will see the wonders of the world.”
Mohammed declared: “We are a team and will fulfil all in the book because of the development they will bring. It will be an all-inclusive government. I thank you most sincerely.”
For Makinde, however, defeating the APC is only part of the task. While accepting the APM presidential ticket, the Oyo State governor said the opposition must offer Nigerians something beyond a change of occupants at the Presidential Villa.
He said he was prepared to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty, which he said had worsened in the past three years as a result of poorly implemented policies.
Makinde also drew symbolism from the choice of Bauchi for the convention, noting that the state was the home of Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, whose role in shaping the country’s democratic history remained significant.
The APM presidential candidate said he would work actively with like-minded politicians to build a broader opposition front ahead of 2027, declaring that the task before the party was bigger than merely winning an election.
“As we approach the 2027 general elections, therefore, I believe the task before all of us is bigger than winning an election. It is to give Nigerians a real choice about the future of their country,” he said.
The presidential candidate also said the party would work with other opposition political parties to provide Nigerians with a credible alternative in the 2027 general elections.
He said a strong opposition was essential for the sustenance of democracy, urging the party’s new leadership to collaborate with other opposition parties to provide Nigerians with a credible alternative in 2027.
“As I said, the presence of a credible opposition is what sustains democracy. So, our new leaders must be ready to work with other opposition parties to ensure that we give Nigeria a credible alternative in the 2027 general election,” Makinde said.
The Oyo State governor further said the 2027 election should focus on measurable outcomes rather than political slogans, campaign promises and government announcements.
He said: “For too long, we have measured governors by announcements. We are presented with policy after policy, rather than evidence of where those policies have made people’s lives better.”
He stressed: “When our mothers go to the market, they experience economic policy not as a statistic. They experience it in what their money can buy: how much rice, how much beans, and how much they can take home.”
He added: “We experience job creation policy through a press statement. The experience is whether you can find productive work.”
Makinde also said Nigerians should assess governments based on productivity, access to markets, improved family welfare and security rather than the number of government programmes or security meetings.
According to him: “Security is not the number of security meetings in Government House. It is whether people come home and sleep with their two eyes closed.”
The APM presidential candidate said the 2027 election should therefore be a contest of ideas and evidence, with candidates explaining how their policies would improve the lives of Nigerians.
He said: “The 2027 election should not simply be about what government has done. It should be about what has changed for Nigerians.”
According to him: “Those of us who offer ourselves as alternatives must answer the question: What exactly will we do differently, and what measurable difference should Nigeria expect to see?”
Makinde said the country needed an economy capable of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty, productive jobs for young people, quality education and effective security.
He also advocated a stronger federal structure, saying more decisions and resources should be brought closer to the people while ensuring greater accountability.
“We need a federation in which more decisions and resources are brought closer to the people, accompanied by greater accountability for results,” he said.
The Oyo State governor further called for a political system that would restore trust between leaders and citizens, stressing that political disagreement should not turn opponents into enemies.
He said: “We want a politics where disagreement does not make us enemies; a politics where opposition is not merely about removing those in power, but about presenting a credible and demonstrably better alternative.”
Makinde said the ultimate objective ahead of 2027 should be to give Nigerians a genuine choice about the future of the country.
“Let the coming campaign be a contest of ideas. Let us debate the evidence. Let us compare records. Let everyone seeking to lead Nigerians answer one simple question: How will the lives of Nigerians be better because we were allowed to lead?” he said.
With the Bauchi convention over, the battle lines are beginning to take shape. Against Tinubu and the formidable APC machinery, the APM is putting forward an engineer-governor with presidential ambitions, backed by another serving governor and paired with a former head of one of Nigeria’s most powerful intelligence agencies.
For the APM, the calculation is that Makinde’s governance credentials, Daura’s security background and Bala Mohammed’s political network can be welded into an electoral machine strong enough to upset the ruling party in 2027.
That is the road the party hopes will ultimately transform Governor Seyi Makinde — GSM — into President Seyi Makinde, PSM. The enthusiasm that greeted the Makinde-Daura ticket in Bauchi may have provided the opening roar, but the real test will be whether the unusual alliance of politician and spymaster can gather enough national force to turn the APM’s ambition into a genuine battle for Tinubu’s job.
