The Executive Governor of Oyo State and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP),  Seyi Makinde, is currently holding a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.

New Telegraph reports that the development has sparked renewed political speculation amid shifting alliances ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Makinde, a prominent figure in the opposition PDP, arrived at the Presidential Villa shortly after Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang and proceeded directly to the President’s office.

The visit comes against the backdrop of Makinde’s influential role in the G-5 bloc of PDP governors who opposed the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election.

The governors argued that the PDP’s zoning principle favoured a southern presidential candidate following the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

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Other members of the G-5 included former Rivers State governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; former Benue State governor Samuel Ortom; ex-Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and former Abia State governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

However, Makinde and Wike have since fallen out politically.

In a recent interview, Makinde attributed the rift to a meeting involving President Tinubu in which Wike allegedly pledged PDP support for the President’s re-election bid without consulting other party leaders.

“I was in a meeting with the President and Wike and a few others, and Wike said to the President that I will hold PDP for you against 2027. So, we got up, and I asked Wike, did we agree to this?” Makinde said.

He stressed that while Wike is free to back President Tinubu’s second-term ambition, other PDP stakeholders are entitled to oppose actions they believe could undermine political plurality.

“The real issue is that Wike would like to support the President in 2027, that’s fine; it’s within his right to do that. But some of us want democracy to survive in Nigeria. We don’t want to drift into a one-party state, and we want to ensure that PDP survives,” Makinde said.

The Oyo governor added that the pledge was unsolicited by the President.

“The President did not ask him; he volunteered it,” Makinde said, noting that efforts to persuade Wike to reconsider were unsuccessful. That is why I will never support the President for 2027,” he added.

As of the time of filing this report, the agenda of the meeting between President Tinubu and Governor Makinde had not been made public.