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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the June 20, 2026, Ekiti State election, Dr Wole Oluyede, has declared his support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, calling for political unity among Ekiti stakeholders.
Oluyede made the position known after meeting Governor Biodun Oyebanji in Lagos on Thursday, describing the engagement as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation among Ekiti leaders despite their political differences.
The PDP chieftain said the meeting was driven by reciprocity and a shared commitment to the development of Ekiti State.
According to him, Oyebanji had visited him on June 21, shortly after the governorship election, when they discussed ways political leaders could work together for the state’s progress.
“Governor Oyebanji came to visit me on June 21, immediately after the election. We discussed Ekiti and how we could all come together as brothers to move Ekiti forward. Today’s meeting is part of returning that visit and paying back the gesture,” Oluyede said.
He stressed that political disagreements should not undermine the relationship among Ekiti people, saying the state’s tradition of Omoluabi should remain a unifying value.
Oluyede, who recently announced his decision to support Tinubu’s re-election alongside his team and members of the Oluyede Progressive Alliance for Renewed Hope Agenda (OPARHA), said the next step was to translate the declaration into grassroots mobilisation.
“I want us to focus on 2027 and how we can win Ekiti for Mr President. To achieve that, everybody needs to come together,” he said.
He disclosed plans to lead a grassroots campaign across the state, with his team and OPARHA members expected to engage residents directly ahead of the presidential election.
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“We will go from house to house, village to village and community to community. We are going to speak directly with our people, listen to them and mobilise them for President Tinubu,” Oluyede said.
The former PDP governorship candidate said the mobilisation would involve political actors as well as traditional and community leaders, youths, women, professionals, business owners and other stakeholders across Ekiti’s 16 local government areas.
He set an ambitious target of securing 90 per cent of the state’s votes for Tinubu.
“Our target is clear. We want Ekiti to give President Tinubu 90 per cent. We are going to work for it. We will mobilise, campaign and speak to our people directly. But we cannot do it alone. Everybody must come together,” he said.
Oluyede said his cooperation with Oyebanji should be viewed beyond partisan politics, arguing that the shared identity of being Ekiti indigenes should take precedence when the interests of the state and country are at stake.
“We may belong to different political parties, but at the end of the day, we are Ekiti people. We are brothers. We can disagree politically without becoming enemies,” he said.
The governor, through his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, confirmed the meeting and said Oluyede formally briefed Oyebanji about his decision to work for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Oyebode added that the two leaders also discussed the development of Ekiti during Oyebanji’s second term, which is scheduled to begin on October 16.
Oyebanji thanked Oluyede for what he described as his statesmanship and commitment to the development of Ekiti and Nigeria.
