𝐀𝐬𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐏𝐂 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐃𝐏 𝐎𝐲𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐞𝐲𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞, 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 (𝐏𝐃𝐏), 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚, 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐣𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲. 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐀𝐏𝐂), 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲: “𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐃𝐏.” 𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. “𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐏𝐂 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐃𝐏 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧,” 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: “𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝.” 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐞𝐮𝐯𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐎𝐲𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐒𝐞𝐲𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞, 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮, 𝐏𝐃𝐏, 𝐀𝐏𝐂, 𝐀𝐬𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤, 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐁𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

 Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has dismissed speculation that he is considering defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that he remains firmly rooted in the party despite recent political realignments. 

Governor Makinde made this known after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, which had triggered rumours following reports of opposition figures aligning with the ruling party.

Addressing questions on whether he was planning to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), the governor said plainly: “I'm comfortable in the PDP.”

He added that his meeting with the president should not be misinterpreted, explaining that governance sometimes requires cross-party engagement in the national interest.

"Again, we may have issues in this country where a bipartisan approach is required. It shouldn't be a situation where only the APC is talking or only the PDP is talking. We must look at what puts our best foot forward in the interest of our nation," Makinde said.

The governor further stressed the importance of collective responsibility in moments of national concern, noting: “At that point, you need everybody on board.”

He maintained that while he supports constructive engagement across party lines, his political loyalty remains unchanged, reiterating that he has no plans to leave the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.

His comments come amid heightened political manoeuvring nationwide, following reports that some opposition leaders are exploring alliances with the ruling party.