2027: Ekiti PDP, SDP, APM, others unite for Tinubu

By Rotimi Ojomoyela & Omeiza Ajayi ADO-EKITI — President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign received a boost in Ekiti State yesterday, as governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Social Democratic Party. SDP, and Allied Peoples Movement, APM, declared support for his second-term bid. The opposition politicians made their declarations at the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti, where Governor Biodun Oyebanji pledged that the state would deliver at least 90 per cent of its votes for Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.

Represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, the President urged Ekiti residents to improve on the 201,495 votes secured by the APC in the state in the 2023 presidential election, when the party won in all 16 local government areas. Dignitaries at the rally included; Ondo State Governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; and former Ekiti governors, Ayodele Fayose, Kayode Fayemi and Niyi Adebayo.

Shettima said the support of opposition candidates and former governors demonstrated the growing political strength of the APC in the state. He also recalled that Oyebanji secured 85.74 per cent of the votes in the June governorship election, expressing optimism that the party could garner between 90 and 95 per cent in the presidential poll. “With a total registered vote of 1,028,000, it is our hope, prayer and aspiration that from January 16, 2027, APC will garner 90 to 95 per cent of the votes cast in Ekiti State,” Shettima said.

Oyebanji promises 90% Oyebanji described the rally as a demonstration of political unity, saying the support of former opposition candidates and former governors had strengthened the APC ahead of the presidential election. He recalled that Tinubu, during his 2022 campaign, had urged Ekiti residents to vote for both him and Oyebanji, promising federal support for the state if elected.

According to the governor, the President has fulfilled that promise through what he described as unprecedented federal interventions in Ekiti since its creation 30 years ago. Oyebanji pledged that the state would improve on its previous electoral performance and deliver at least 90 per cent of its votes for the President. APC targets 800,000 votes Also speaking, Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, challenged Ekiti to deliver 800,000 votes for Tinubu, representing about 90 per cent of the votes expected from the state.

He said: “Out of 1,080,000 votes, and PVC collected over 900,000, this is my request, and by extension, of course, of the President to you. We are looking for 800,000 votes, representing about 90 per cent.” North firmly behind Tinubu — YARI “We in Northern Nigeria, Bola is more of us than you in Ekiti, than you in Ondo, than you in Oyo, than you in Osun, than you in Lagos.

Bola Ahmed supported our children, supported our people to become number one citizens in this country up to three times. So, we in the North, we are ready for Asiwaju 2027 and we are going to deliver him from A to Z,” he said. APC lists reforms, projects The APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, urged Nigerians to re-elect Tinubu, describing him as a performer and reformer.

He said his responsibility at the rally was to present the party’s candidates, from the President to the National Assembly and Ekiti State House of Assembly. “We have a road from here to Akure constructed by Mr President. Our governor was elected on the basis of his performance. So also was the President,” he said. He defended the administration’s tax reforms, saying small businesses and individuals earning below N100 million annually had been exempted from tax.

“Today, all those small ‘mama puts’ in the market, people who earn less than 100 million Naira per annum, don’t pay tax. Freeing legitimate money being earned by the lowest people in society,” he said. Former Edo State Governor and Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, also canvassed support for Tinubu, citing interventions in education, workers’ welfare and security.

He listed the expansion of educational institutions, student loans, additional support for workers and recruitment into the military and other security agencies. Oshiomhole challenged opposition parties to explain what they would do differently, insisting that the administration’s policies were beginning to address the country’s economic challenges.

The PDP governorship candidate, Oluyede, said Oyebanji’s performance had brought political stakeholders together, adding that former opposition members were prepared to support Tinubu. He urged Ekiti residents to vote for the President in January, saying Tinubu had been kind and generous to the state. The SDP and APM governorship candidates, Isaac Alade and Chief Joseph Anifowose, respectively, also declared support for the APC presidential ticket.

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