Egalitarian Voice Media has received Governor Seyi Makinde’s Newsletter dated November 12, 2026.
Below is the part of the Newsletter as received, without any alteration:
I supported President Tinubu in 2023 because I believed his experience and political relationships could help him bring Nigerians together.
One thing I have always acknowledged about him is his ability to build bridges across political divides. I believed he could use that ability to establish a government of national unity and competence, focused on improving the lives of Nigerians.
But over the past three years, I have become increasingly concerned about four things.
First, economic stability without economic development.
I acknowledge the improvements in some macroeconomic indicators under this administration. But government revenues and external reserves mean little to ordinary Nigerians if those gains do not translate into productive businesses, jobs, better incomes and improved living conditions.
Also, contrary to the formula President Tinubu claims to be following, economic stabilisation and development are not necessarily sequential. Nigerians did not have to endure this level of hardship while waiting for development to begin.
Second, governing by excuses.
Every government inherits problems, but it is elected to solve them. Over three years into this administration, we are still hearing explanations about inherited poverty, insecurity, electricity problems and other challenges, when Nigerians should be seeing more measurable progress towards resolving them.
Third, building political power instead of national unity.
I believed President Tinubu’s ability to build political alliances would translate into a government that brought capable Nigerians together around a shared national interest. Instead, I have come to believe that his political alliances serve his political objectives more than the national interest, and I am deeply concerned about the weakening of opposition parties, which are essential to a functioning democracy.
Fourth, economic reforms without adequate protection for Nigerians.
I supported the need to reform our petrol subsidy and foreign-exchange systems, but I expected those reforms to be implemented with adequate preparation for their consequences. Instead, millions of Nigerians who were already struggling were exposed to further hardship before sufficient measures were in place to protect them.
These are not simply political disagreements.
They reflect a fundamental difference in how I believe government should work and whose interests should come first.
Perhaps the best way to explain why these differences matter so much to me is to show you how I would have approached one of the most consequential decisions of this administration.
What I Would Have Done Differently
Let me use petrol subsidy removal as an example.
I would have used the presidential transition period to prepare for subsidy removal.
After all, President Tinubu cannot honestly say he did not know what the consequences would be. Back in 2012, when President Goodluck Jonathan attempted to remove petrol subsidy, he publicly opposed the abrupt removal, arguing against the hardship it would impose on Nigerians.
Nor can he claim he did not understand the hardship Nigerians were already experiencing. He witnessed the petrol and naira scarcity crises leading up to the 2023 elections and spoke publicly about their effects on Nigerians.
With this background, upon assuming office, I would have convened the National Economic Council to agree on a coordinated response with state governors.
We could have identified the interventions required to protect Nigerians, agreed on how they would be funded and established how the Federal Government, states and local governments would work together to deliver them.
And Nigerians would have been able to see how much was being spent, who was benefiting and what results were being achieved.
Even as a subnational government, we demonstrated in Oyo State that it was possible to act quickly to protect people.
When subsidy removal was announced, we immediately began consultations with organised labour and introduced measures to reduce the burden of transportation costs.
Within eleven days, we had announced the deployment of additional Omituntun buses, maintained existing fares and introduced half-price travel for students and senior citizens.
We did not wait until we had a comprehensive programme before taking action.
By August 2023, we had introduced the Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER) programme, which provided food relief to 200,000 vulnerable households, subsidised public transport and supported small businesses and farmers with loans and agricultural inputs.
Our approach was simple: provide immediate relief while developing measures to help people earn a living.
Good leadership requires more than making economically sound decisions. It requires understanding how those decisions will affect the people you have been elected to serve.
Nigerians deserved better preparation and better protection.
And that is the difference in our approach to governance.
Credit: Newsletter
