The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Seyi Makinde, has picked former Director-General of the State Security Service, Lawal Daura, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
Daura, who served as the SSS director-general between 2015 and 2018, was announced as Makinde’s running mate at the APM national convention held at the Rilwan Adamu Square in Bauchi on Thursday.
According to a statement issued by the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, Makinde deliberately chose the former intelligence chief to address the country’s security challenges.
“His Presidential running mate is Alh. Lawal Musa Daura, the former Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) between 2015 and 2018, whom he said was deliberately chosen to solve the security situation of the country,” the statement read.
Daura headed the SSS from 2015 to 2018 before his removal from office by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Makinde, who was formally elected as the APM presidential candidate at the convention, also pledged to work with politicians who share his vision to improve the country.
“The APM Presidential candidate said that he will work actively with like-minded politicians to ensure a better Nigeria come 2027,” the statement added.
The governor said he was prepared to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty, blaming the worsening situation on what he described as poorly implemented policies over the past three years.
“Gov. Makinde said he’s well prepared to lift the millions of Nigerians out of the poverty level, which has ravaged the land even more in the past three years as a result of poorly implemented policies,” Oyelade stated.
Makinde also said the choice of Bauchi as the venue for the convention was significant because it was the home state of Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
The governor’s emergence as the APM presidential candidate and choice of Daura as his running mate come ahead of the 2027 general elections.