President Bola Tinubu has appealed to voters in Ekiti State to give him at least 90% of the votes in the 16 January 2027 presidential election, as he seeks re-election for another four-year term.
The President also criticised his political opponents, arguing that they lacked the political experience and leadership credentials to match his record.
His appeal was made at a rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council at the Ekitiparapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Thursday.
Represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu said his administration had fulfilled some of the promises made to Ekiti residents ahead of the 2023 presidential election, particularly in federal appointments and infrastructure development.
He also commended voters for re-electing Governor Biodun Oyebanji in the 30 June governorship election, in which the governor secured 87.5% of the total votes cast.
According to President Tinubu, the result demonstrated the APC’s political strength in the state.
The President also praised Oyebanji for bringing political leaders, including former opposition figures and governorship candidates, together after the election to support his administration and the APC ahead of 2027.
Taking a swipe at a former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, President Tinubu questioned his political influence in Adamawa State, citing the alleged lack of support from several former governors of the state.
He said: ‘Let me speak briefly about those who are contesting against us. Let us analyse Adamawa for instance, we have had five governors since 1999 in that state, not a single one is standing with Alhaji Abubakar Atiku.
‘Is Governor Umaru Fintiri with him? No. Is former Governors Boni Haruna, Barrister Bala Ngilari, Murtala Nyako and Bindow Jibrilla with him? No. None of them is standing with him. All these political giants are standing with President Tinubu.
‘If you can’t control your own state, if you are not relevant in your state, how do you now relevant elsewhere? Politics is a game of number. What will Atiku who is not relevant at home tell the people of Osun, Ogun, Kaduna, Lagos, Rivers and others’?
Highlighting his administration’s projects in Ekiti, Tinubu said the Ado-Ikere-Akure Road had been completed, while contracts had been awarded for the reconstruction of the Ado-Ijan-Iluomoba-Ikole Road and the Ado-Aramoko-Ita Ore Road.
He also cited the establishment of a federal university at Iyin-Ekiti as part of efforts to expand educational opportunities and create employment.
The President added that students of Ekiti State University and Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology were benefiting from the student loan scheme introduced by his administration.
He urged residents to give him another opportunity to continue implementing his development plans.
‘I plead with you, let us give our president another chance to do more and make Nigeria a great nation. Look at all your leaders, former governor Niyi Adebayo, former Governor Ayodele Fayose, former governor Segun Oni and former governor Kayode Fayemi, they have all aligned with the aspiration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We appreciate you for this solidarity. God bless you’, he said.
At the rally, Oyebanji, who led former opposition governorship candidates, including the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, and other political figures to the event, said the APC’s 87.5% victory in the governorship election was an endorsement of President Tinubu’s leadership and the state government.
He maintained that the President had not disappointed Ekiti residents in terms of federal government presence and development projects.
Oyebanji also pledged that the state would double the number of votes secured by the APC in the governorship election in support of Tinubu’s re-election bid.
‘President Tinubu has no problem in Ekiti. We are united behind him. We are going to double the tally of votes we got here in the last election to him. All our former governors are with us on this project and all the major candidates of opposition parties are with us. We are going to return the President with 90 per cent of total votes here in Ekiti’, he said.
The governor added that residents would show appreciation for the President’s infrastructure projects and interventions by supporting his re-election.
Also, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who was also Zamfara State Governor, urged the state voters to deliver at least 900,000 votes for President Tinubu.
Yari expressed confidence that the political unity being promoted by Oyebanji would help the party achieve its target.
He also assured the President of continued support from voters in northern Nigeria, citing his previous political support for former President Muhammadu Buhari and other prominent northern politicians.
According to Yari, Tinubu’s administration had made progress in addressing food inflation, claiming that the prices of commodities such as sorghum, rice, millet and maize had dropped significantly.
He called on voters in Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo and Lagos States to support the President’s second-term ambition.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, and the APC Chairman in Ekiti State, Barrister Sola Elesin, also commended residents for their support for the party.
They described the anticipated support for President Tinubu in 2027 as an endorsement of the APC’s Renewed Hope agenda.
The 12,000-capacity Ekitiparapo Pavilion was filled with APC members, supporters and political figures who attended the rally.
Among the dignitaries present were Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his wife, Ibijoke; Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa; and former Ekiti governors Kayode Fayemi, Ayodele Fayose and Niyi Adebayo.
Others included Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief Monisade Afuye; Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye; Senators Yemi Adaramodu and Cyril Fasuyi; members of the House of Representatives; ministers; commissioners; special advisers; party leaders; traders; commercial motorcyclists and civil servants.
