Tinubu: 67percent Voted Against Him But He Became President Because Constitution Allows That—Makinde

Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, Seyi Makinde, has proposed a constitutional change that would require presidential candidates to secure at least 50 per cent of the votes plus one to become president of Nigeria. Makinde made the proposal during an exclusive interview on Arise Television, aired on Friday, November 13, 2026.

The governor said his proposal was informed by Nigeria’s experience and political arrangements in other countries. He explained that he intended to engage Nigerians within a short period on the need to review the constitutional requirements for winning presidential elections.

“Looking at our experience and what has happened elsewhere in the world to put together our diversity and make it a source of unity, we will go to Nigerians within a very short period to say, look, let us have an arrangement where, for you to become the president of this country, you need to have 50 per cent of the votes plus one,” Makinde said.

He compared his proposal with the constitutional requirements applied during the 2023 presidential election. “What we have, if you go back to the 2023 election results, is a situation where somebody with 34 per cent of the votes became the president. The constitution says the highest vote plus 35 per cent in two-thirds of the states in Nigeria, plus FCT,” he stated.

The APM candidate argued that requiring a presidential candidate to secure 50 per cent of the votes plus one would make it necessary for candidates to build broader support across the country and negotiate with other political interests to reach the required threshold.

“Now, if we had gotten 50 per cent plus one, you know, in our constitution, it would have been almost impossible for Asiwaju to become the president of Nigeria. Or even if he would still become the president, you have to negotiate with the rest of the country to get to that magic number,” Makinde said.

He further argued that the existing electoral arrangement allowed a candidate to win despite opposition from a larger proportion of voters. “But what we’ve seen is 67 per cent voted against him and his party, but he became the president because our constitution basically allows that,” he added.