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Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji on Wednesday said the state could deliver between 600,000 and 700,000 votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election, citing steady gains by the All Progressives Congress (APC) across recent polls.
Speaking to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa after a meeting with Mr Tinubu and flanked by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Oyebanji pointed to a rising vote trajectory for the party in Ekiti since 2022 as the basis for his projection.
“The president’s chances are very bright. In 2022, when we first contested, we won with about 187,000 votes. Six months later, when the president contested and I had only been in office for a few months, we increased it to about 210,000 votes,” he said. “This 2026 governorship election has produced about 318,000 votes. So you can extrapolate from that and see that our target in 2027 is between 600,000 and 700,000 votes, and it is doable.”
Oyebanji, who won a second term in the state two weeks ago, credited the victory to divine favour and the President’s backing, saying those factors helped his administration deliver on campaign promises.
“It is not about what I have done differently. It is about two factors: the grace of God and the support of the President that enabled us to deliver on our promises to our people. These are the two factors that led to the result we saw two weeks ago,” he said.
Promising a more inclusive administration in his new term, the governor said he had already contacted his main challengers and would seek their input for the state’s development.
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“The election ended when the winner was declared. I phoned the two other candidates, and, together with the chairman of the campaign council, we visited one of them. Once I get back to Ekiti, I will visit the other one,” Oyebanji said. “They have assured me of their cooperation because the election has ended, politics has ended, and we have to move back to governance. I told them I would need their wisdom, suggestions and advice in ensuring that we continue to deliver for our people.”
On policy, Oyebanji reiterated his commitment to Ekiti’s 30-year development plan, saying the blueprint will continue to shape budgets, manifestos and priorities.
“We are not going to do anything differently because that 30-year development plan is the basis upon which our yearly budgets are built and upon which our manifesto is crafted. We will continue to diligently follow that plan,” he said.
He also backed the speedy establishment of state police once constitutional amendments are finalised, saying governors are prepared to fast-track implementation.
“We are ready for state police. We are thankful to the National Assembly for the constitutional amendments, and we are waiting for them to be transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly,” Oyebanji said. “The governors have made up their minds that they are going to give it speedy approval so that we can start implementation.”
