Former Ekiti State governor Peter Ayodele Fayose has alleged that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde offered ₦10bn in political funding and demanded the vice-presidential slot as part of behind-the-scenes talks with former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as manoeuvring intensifies ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.
Fayose made the claims in a post on X (formerly Twitter), where he described an “Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday” and said the discussions were linked to the political future of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a Nigerian opposition party that has been used as a coalition platform by prominent politicians ahead of 2027.
The claims followed a high-profile visit to Minna, the capital of Niger State in north-central Nigeria, where Atiku and Makinde were reported to have held closed-door talks at the residence of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, a former Nigerian military head of state. Multiple Nigerian media outlets reported that both politicians were at Babangida’s hilltop home in Minna on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, though accounts differed on whether the meetings were joint or held separately.
In his post, Fayose claimed Makinde would only join the ADC if he was made Atiku’s running mate and that the proposal would be taken to Atiku’s “inner caucus” for “further discussions and ratification.” Fayose further alleged that Makinde offered ₦10bn, to be released “in two tranches,” as an initial contribution toward what he called the “proper take-off of the ADC,” with more funds to follow when campaigning begins.
Fayose also alleged that Makinde promised to “deliver the Southwest delegates” at the party primary, and to use personal connections to boost support in the South-South, one of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. He suggested Makinde argued that his candidacy could help “divide the Southwest votes” in the general election. Fayose added that a follow-up meeting was fixed for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, “within the next two weeks.”
None of the claims about funding, delegate commitments, or ticket negotiations were backed with documentary evidence in Fayose’s post, and the details could not be independently verified from the public reporting on the Minna visit.
Separately, Atiku has publicly discussed internal rules within the ADC, including the question of zoning, a power-sharing practice in Nigeria that informally rotates major political offices between regions. After his Minna visit, Atiku was quoted as saying: “We have no zoning in ADC’s constitution.”
Fayose’s post also asserted that calculations around the vice-presidential slot were influenced by the view that Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and a major opposition figure from Nigeria’s South-East, “will not accept to be Atiku’s running mate.” However, several outlets have reported that Obi defected from the Labour Party to the ADC in December 2025, amid wider coalition politics ahead of 2027.