Ekiti APC sets 80% Tinubu vote target as campaign group donates vehicles

Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji has set a target of at least 80 per cent support for President Bola Tinubu among registered voters in the state at Nigeria’s January 2027 presidential election, calling on All Progressives Congress leaders to intensify their grassroots campaign. Oyebanji made the call on Thursday at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti during the inauguration of the Ekiti chapter of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement. The event also included the presentation of 25 campaign vehicles intended to support mobilisation in communities across the state.

According to Punch Nigeria and Channels Television, the governor urged APC stakeholders to engage directly with undecided voters and people who hold Permanent Voter Cards but did not participate in earlier elections. He warned that voter apathy could undermine the party’s efforts and asked campaigners to identify eligible voters, speak with them personally and encourage them to turn out on election day. Oyebanji described the 80 per cent figure as a challenge to party leaders and members.

He said the party’s performance in the most recent governorship election should be used as a foundation for securing a strong presidential result, while stressing that support at the state level needed to be translated into votes for Tinubu. The governor also linked his appeal to what he described as federal support for Ekiti. He said assistance from the Tinubu administration had contributed to the state government’s development efforts and argued that continued cooperation between the federal and state governments was important for ongoing projects and programmes.

He expressed appreciation to the movement’s convener, Niger Delta leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, and said the group’s investment in Ekiti would be matched by sustained mobilisation. Oyebanji noted that the movement had already visited 19 states and was expected to continue its activities elsewhere. Ekpemupolo, represented at the event by the movement’s grand patron, Kestin Pondi, said the vehicles would help extend the group’s message to communities in Ekiti and other parts of Nigeria.

He called for Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that the administration needed more time to consolidate its economic reforms. Pondi attributed improvements in state governments’ ability to pay salaries and pensions and carry out development projects to those reforms. The movement said projects in Ekiti demonstrated the resources available to governments, but the reports did not provide independent figures to support the claims or indicate how many registered voters the 80 per cent target represented.