…Tompolo backs Tinubu’s re-election, donates 25 vehicles in Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has charged the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its supporters to secure at least 90 per cent of votes cast in the state for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Oyebanji said the state must reciprocate the support it had received from the Federal Government by delivering a strong electoral victory for the President.
The Governor made this known on Thursday while receiving 25 campaign vehicles donated by the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, held at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti,
He described Tinubu as a leader committed to Ekiti’s development, noting that the support of the Federal Government had contributed to the achievements recorded by his administration.
Oyebanji recalled that the APC secured 85.7 per cent of the votes in the last governorship election in Ekiti, expressing confidence that the party could deliver a strong performance in the 2027 presidential election.
He urged party members to intensify door-to-door campaigns, reach eligible voters across communities and mobilise those who did not participate in previous elections.
The governor assured the movement that the 25 vehicles would be distributed according to the state’s mobilisation needs and monitored to ensure their effective use.
Earlier, the Grand Patron and founder of the movement, High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, represented by the leader of the delegation, High Chief Kestin Pondi, called for Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that the President deserved another term to consolidate his economic reforms and implement the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Pondi said the movement had visited several states and received accounts from governors about the effects of the Federal Government’s policies on their ability to pay salaries and pensions and execute development projects.
He argued that significant economic transformation could not be achieved within three and a half years, urging Nigerians to give the President another term to consolidate the reforms and deliver their long-term benefits.
He also called on voters to assess opposition politicians based on their records in public office and their proposals for addressing the country’s challenges.
Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, Comrade Sunday Adekanbi, urged APC members to intensify grassroots mobilisation by reaching voters in their homes, farms, churches and mosques.
Adekanbi said the Tinubu administration had created an enabling environment for state governments to implement development projects, particularly in road infrastructure and the payment of salaries and pensions.
He also commended the Oyebanji administration for its efforts in infrastructure development and urged party members to support APC candidates at all levels in the 2027 elections.
The APC State Chairman, Sola Elesin, commended the movement for adopting a door-to-door mobilisation strategy, urging other support groups to emulate its approach.
Elesin charged those who would use the donated vehicles to deploy them effectively for campaigns and voter mobilisation, with the aim of securing more than 700,000 votes for the party in the forthcoming elections.
He urged supporters to take the party’s message directly to residents rather than limit their campaigns to rallies and public gatherings.
In her goodwill message, a representative of women in the state, Chief Mrs Ronke Okusanya , pledged the support of women for Tinubu’s re-election, citing the administration’s social intervention programmes and support for students.
She said women would participate actively in the door-to-door campaign, with each participant expected to mobilise at least 10 voters for the President.
She also commended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for her support for women and families, adding that the group believed the administration’s policies would improve the welfare of Nigerians.
Speaking on behalf of workers, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ekiti State, Kolapo Ishiola, expressed appreciation for the increase in the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
Ishiola said the new wage had improved workers’ welfare, pledging the support of organised labour for Oyebanji and Tinubu.
Similarly, a representative of the Ekiti South Senatorial District, Hon. Babade Kayode, called on residents to appreciate the support the state had received from the President by voting for him in 2027.
The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Stephen Aribasoye, who spoke on behalf of the Ekiti North Senatorial District, said the state’s development efforts had benefited from policies and support provided by the Tinubu administration.
Aribasoye urged residents to support the President’s re-election to sustain the development initiatives being implemented in Ekiti State. He also commended the movement for its mobilisation efforts, expressing optimism that the initiative would yield positive electoral results.
Dignitaries at the event included the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Chief (Mrs.) Monisade Afuye, and other government officials and APC stakeholders.
THE HOPE
