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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has unveiled former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
Makinde announced Daura on Thursday at the APM National Convention held at the Rilwanu Adamu Square in Bauchi State, replacing Ibrahim Adamu Bala, who had earlier been listed as the party’s vice presidential candidate.
The announcement was contained in a statement by the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade.
Reports had earlier indicated that Bala’s selection was a temporary arrangement pending the choice of a substantive running mate. His name had appeared on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal as Makinde’s running mate, with the Bauchi politician providing the ticket with a North-South balance.
Makinde said Daura’s experience as a former intelligence chief informed his decision to select him.
He said the former DSS director-general would bring relevant experience to the ticket as he seeks to address Nigeria’s security challenges.
Daura served as DSS Director-General from 2015 to 2018.
Accepting the APM presidential ticket at the convention, Makinde pledged to tackle insecurity and the worsening economic hardship in the country.
He said he would work with Nigerians and politicians who share his vision to build a better country, while attributing some of the hardship confronting citizens to poorly implemented government policies.
Daura’s entry into the APM followed his resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) earlier this month.
The former DSS chief had been an ADC governorship aspirant in Katsina State, where he lost the party’s ticket to Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita. However, Daura has disputed claims that losing the ticket was the reason for his departure.
Explaining his decision to leave the ADC, Daura said he was motivated by concerns about insecurity, leadership and Nigeria’s economic challenges.
“I joined politics not to achieve personal ambition, but because of my concern for the country and its people. I want to change people’s belief that lies, dishonesty and deception are part of politics.”
He subsequently joined the APM in August, describing the party as capable of winning elections and free from the internal crisis he said affected the ADC.
Recall Makinde’s journey to the APM presidential ticket followed the opposition realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.
He formally declared his intention to contest the presidency on May 14 at a joint rally involving his faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APM in Ibadan. The declaration followed a Memorandum of Understanding between the PDP faction and the APM.
He subsequently emerged as the APM’s presidential candidate at the party’s presidential primary conducted across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in May.