Ekiti governor and PDP figure back Tinubu re-election bid

Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain Oluwole Oluyede have pledged to work together to secure strong support for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. Oyebanji spoke in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday while addressing PDP members gathered under the Oluyede Progressive Alliance for Renewed Hope Alliance. The event marked the end of a mobilisation programme titled “20,000 Steps for Tinubu”.

The governor said the All Progressives Congress and the PDP in Ekiti were approaching the election as a united family. He urged voters to turn out for Tinubu, claiming that no past Nigerian president had had as positive an impact on the state as Tinubu since taking office in 2023. Oyebanji and Oluyede said their supporters would seek at least 90 per cent of Ekiti’s votes for Tinubu.

The governor also referred to a target of more than 900,000 votes, although the source did not provide a breakdown of the state’s electorate. Oyebanji thanked Oluyede for setting aside party differences and said cooperation was necessary for Ekiti’s development. He said the state would enter the election as one united family and linked support for the President to expectations of continued attention to local priorities.

Oluyede, who was the PDP candidate in the June 20 governorship election, said his organisation would conduct door-to-door mobilisation in all 16 local government areas. He said PDP members had agreed to support Tinubu and that he had discussed the matter with the President. Oluyede said supporters would continue sensitising voters before election day and pledged what he described as 100 per cent support from his group.

The remarks represented political commitments by the two speakers; the source gave no independent estimate of likely votes or confirmation of any formal cross-party agreement.