Trending 
Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, has publicly invited Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), arguing that such a move would bring Oyo State into closer political alignment with the Federal Government.
Goronyo made the appeal on Monday, August 24, 2026, during the flag-off of the dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu Road in Ogun State. President Bola Tinubu was represented at the event by Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The minister described the APC-led Federal Government as driving a rapidly expanding programme of infrastructure development and urged Makinde to take what he called the “natural giant step” of joining the ruling party.
Goronyo specifically called on the Oyo governor to align the state fully with the Federal Government under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The invitation carries added political significance because Makinde is positioning himself for the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), according to Vanguard. Makinde was absent from Monday’s road project ceremony.
The latest overture also comes against the backdrop of sustained attempts by APC figures to bring Oyo State firmly into the ruling party’s political column.
Earlier in 2026, APC chieftain Dapo Lam-Adesina argued that Oyo would benefit from being politically aligned with the Federal Government, saying the party intended to reclaim the state in the 2027 governorship election.
Makinde, however, has previously resisted suggestions that cooperation with President Tinubu necessarily requires joining the APC. After meeting Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in January, Makinde said political differences should not prevent leaders from working together on issues such as insecurity, poverty and governance.
That distinction makes Goronyo’s latest invitation politically important.
The debate is not simply about whether Makinde will defect. It also touches on a recurring question in Nigerian politics: Does a state really need to belong to the president’s political party to receive the full benefits of the federation?
Under Nigeria’s federal system, federal infrastructure and development programmes are meant to serve citizens regardless of which political party controls their state.
But with the 2027 elections approaching, the call for Makinde to “align Oyo with the centre” will inevitably be interpreted within the larger battle for political control of the South-West.
For Makinde, accepting the invitation would represent a dramatic political realignment. Rejecting it while pursuing his own presidential ambitions would put him increasingly in direct competition with the APC and President Tinubu.
The bigger question is therefore: Will Seyi Makinde eventually join the APC — or will he attempt to turn Oyo into a major opposition base against Tinubu in 2027?
