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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 20 June 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State, Dr Wole Oluyede, and the governor of the state, Biodun Oyebanji, have pledged to deliver 90 per cent of votes for President Bola Tinubu in the January 2027 presidential election.
Oluyede, the convener of the Oluyede Progressive Alliance for Renewed Hope Agenda (OPARHA), and Governor Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the pledge while addressing PDP members at a mobilisation rally organised by Oluyede under the aegis of OPARHA held in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of the state.
The two leaders, who said the PDP and the APC were going into the 2027 election as a united family, promised to mobilise massive support and deliver a minimum of 900,000 votes for President Tinubu in the election.
Oluyede, a stalwart of the PDP in the state, has been rooting for President Tinubu’s re-election bid through his grassroots platform, OPARHA.
According to him, the mobilisation was aimed at demonstrating that the President enjoyed substantial support across political divides in the state.
He declared that he was committed to working with his supporters and other stakeholders to ensure that Tinubu secured an overwhelming victory in Ekiti.
Oluyede said his supporters in the PDP would embark on door-to-door mobilisation across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state for the President in the 2027 election.
“I want to thank the members of the PDP in Ekiti who are supporting me and have agreed with me that we are going to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and we are going to stand by him.
“I have spoken with President Bola Tinubu and he has promised that he will stand with you; this means the development of Ekiti is reassured. I have promised to support the development of the state with all my might.
“We are going to support President Tinubu 100 per cent. We will deliver 90 per cent (over 900,000) of the votes in Ekiti State for Tinubu. All these PDP members present here are just representatives from across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state. They are committed to the re-election of President Tinubu. They defied the rain. We said we are taking 20,000 steps. I want President Tinubu to acknowledge that Ekiti is working hard for him. We are going to work hard to deliver 90 per cent for him in the election.
“All these people are already committed. They will go door to door in all the 16 local governments to canvass for Tinubu. And on the day of the election, they are going to stand with the President, and they are going to deliver. We know what we are doing.”
Oluyede also appealed to President Tinubu to reciprocate the support by continuing to prioritise the development of Ekiti State.
“It is President Tinubu who can deliver what we want in Ekiti. We have assured President Tinubu that we are going to deliver for him and he has to deliver for us.”
Oluyede used the occasion to appeal to Governor Oyebanji and President Tinubu to support Ekiti South Senatorial District to produce the next governor of the state.
“We in the Ekiti South Senatorial District of Ekiti State have been denied a lot of things, especially the slot to be the governor of Ekiti State. I am making it open that we are determined to produce the next governor of Ekiti State and I am asking and requesting Governor Biodun Oyebanji and President Bola Tinubu to support us because we have capable people in the southern district.”
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On his part, Governor Oyebanji described Oluyede’s decision to mobilise support for Tinubu as a demonstration of his commitment to peace and the development of the state.
Oyebanji said the political alliance was significant because it showed that political differences should not be allowed to undermine the collective interest of Ekiti people.
He commended Oluyede and his supporters for putting aside partisan differences and joining the campaign for Tinubu’s re-election.
“I am grateful for your generosity of spirit. I am grateful for your love for Ekiti. I am grateful for your commitment to peace and I am grateful because you are a child of God and I know your capacity.
“We had an election in Ekiti State and there was no violence. Nobody was killed. I give God all the glory.”
While commending Ekiti State for attaining 30 years since creation, he recalled that during the struggle for the creation of the state, the founding fathers emphasised unity among the people, irrespective of political, religious or other differences.
“Ekiti State will be 30 years old on 1 October. What is happening today speaks to the aspirations of the founding fathers of the state. When they were fighting for state creation, I was the secretary of that committee and in all our meetings our founding fathers would say we desire an Ekiti where all of us will be one, that not religion, not politics, not anything will separate us because at the end of the day we remain one indivisible entity and we are all Ekiti and that is what Dr Oluyede has demonstrated today.”
Governor Oyebanji added that the development was particularly important because it demonstrated that Ekiti people could work together despite belonging to different political parties.
According to him, the 2027 presidential election should be approached as a collective effort by members of the APC and PDP who support Tinubu, urging them to work together at the ward and local government levels.
The governor said Tinubu’s re-election was critical to the continued development of Ekiti State, citing federal projects and support which, according to him, had had a positive impact on the state.
Oyebanji said: “There has never been a President, living or dead, that has been so good to the people of Ekiti State than this.
“You voted for me and he is supporting me. He also said that you should vote for him and that he will ensure that Ekiti develops.”
He urged APC members across the state to cooperate with members of the Oluyede-led alliance and avoid unnecessary rivalry at the grassroots.
Oyebanji said there should be no hostility between APC and PDP members supporting Tinubu, advising them to organise joint meetings and rallies where necessary.
He said the collaboration between him and Oluyede should serve as an example to politicians in the state on the importance of cooperation, peace and putting the interests of the people above partisan considerations.
While noting that the alliance was an indication that political leaders could put aside personal ambitions and differences when the broader interests of the people were at stake, the governor urged supporters of the alliance to mobilise voters at the grassroots, saying the success of the campaign would depend largely on their ability to bring supporters to the polling units on election day.
