By Ademola Ade
President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign received a major political boost in Ekiti State on Thursday as governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in the June 20 election declared support for his second-term ambition.
The opposition politicians announced their backing at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti, where Governor Biodun Oyebanji also pledged that the state would deliver at least 90 per cent of its votes for Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
The rally attracted top APC leaders, serving governors, former governors and political stakeholders, with the party using the gathering to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Representing the President, Vice-President Kashim Shettima described the support from former opposition candidates and political leaders as evidence of the APC’s growing political strength in Ekiti.
He urged residents to surpass the 201,495 votes recorded for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, when the APC won in all 16 local government areas of the state.
Shettima, who recalled Oyebanji’s 85.74 per cent victory in the June governorship election, expressed optimism that the APC could secure between 90 and 95 per cent of the presidential votes in the state.
He said: “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”.
The Vice-President urged Ekiti residents to give Tinubu another term, arguing that the Federal Government’s difficult economic decisions were beginning to yield results.
In his address, Oyebanji described the rally as a demonstration of political unity, saying the endorsement of Tinubu by former opposition candidates and political leaders had strengthened the APC’s mobilisation ahead of the presidential election.
The governor recalled that during Tinubu’s 2022 campaign, the President had appealed to Ekiti residents to vote for both him and Oyebanji, promising to support the state if elected.
He said Tinubu had fulfilled that commitment through what he described as unprecedented Federal Government support for Ekiti in the 30 years since its creation.
Oyebanji maintained that the 85.7 per cent votes secured by the APC in the June governorship election reflected residents’ confidence in his administration and appreciation of the President’s interventions in the state.
He said the APC was determined to improve on that performance by delivering not less than 90 per cent of the votes for Tinubu in the presidential election.
Also addressing the gathering, the Director-General of the campaign, Abdulaziz Yari, challenged Ekiti residents to deliver at least 800,000 votes for the President, representing about 90 per cent of the state’s votes.
Yari said the Tinubu administration had supported Ekiti through investments in education, road construction, youth development and women’s empowerment, urging the electorate to reciprocate with their votes.
The APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, also called on Nigerians to re-elect Tinubu, describing him as a performer and reformer.
He highlighted the administration’s tax reforms, particularly the exemption of small businesses with annual turnovers below N100 million from tax, as well as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund scheme, which he said had widened access to higher education.
Yilwatda further urged Ekiti residents to vote for APC candidates in the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections, calling for the party to secure control of the legislature at both levels.
Former Edo State Governor and Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, also canvassed support for Tinubu, citing the administration’s interventions in education, workers’ welfare and national security.
He listed the expansion of educational institutions, student loan scheme, additional support for workers and recruitment into the military and other security agencies as reasons Nigerians should support the President’s re-election.
Oshiomhole challenged opposition parties to explain what they would do differently, arguing that the Tinubu administration’s policies were beginning to address the country’s economic challenges.
In a major political development at the rally, the PDP governorship candidate in the June election, Oluyede, said Oyebanji’s performance had brought political stakeholders together, adding that former opposition members were prepared to support the APC presidential ticket.
He urged Ekiti residents to turn out in January and vote for Tinubu, saying the President had been kind and generous to the state.
Similarly, the governorship candidates of the SDP and APM, Isaac Alade and Chief Joseph Anifowose, respectively, declared their support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The endorsements marked a significant show of cross-party support for the APC presidential campaign in Ekiti, although the declarations by the individual candidates do not, in themselves, establish the voting intentions of their former parties or supporters.
Dignitaries at the rally included Ondo State Governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief Monisade Afuye; Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; and former Ekiti governors, Ayodele Fayose, Kayode Fayemi and Niyi Adebayo.
The APC leadership expressed confidence that the political mobilisation and endorsements witnessed at the rally would strengthen its campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
