Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has challenged All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and members in the state to step up grassroots mobilisation for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election ahead of the 2027 general election.
Oyebanji spoke on Thursday at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti during the inauguration of the Ekiti chapter of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, where 25 campaign vehicles were presented to support the group’s activities.
The movement, convened by Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, is working to build support for Tinubu through door-to-door engagement with voters.
The governor urged party members to take the campaign into communities across the state, paying particular attention to undecided voters and eligible Nigerians who failed to vote in previous elections despite having their Permanent Voter Cards.
He said the party needed to engage voters directly and encourage them to participate in the January 2027 presidential election.
Oyebanji also called on APC stakeholders to reciprocate what he described as the support Ekiti had received from the Tinubu administration, saying cooperation between the federal and state governments had contributed to his administration’s development efforts.
He urged party members to sustain their mobilisation efforts and translate their performance in state politics into support for Tinubu at the presidential polls.
The governor expressed appreciation to the movement’s convener and members for bringing the campaign to Ekiti, assuring them that the donated vehicles would be put to use for grassroots mobilisation.
“I have always said that in our 30 years as a state, there has been no President who has been as fair and supportive to Ekiti as President Tinubu,” Oyebanji said.
Speaking on behalf of the movement’s convener, the group’s Grand Patron, Kestin Pondi, called on Nigerians to support Tinubu for a second term, arguing that his administration needed more time to consolidate its economic reforms.
Pondi said the reforms had increased the resources available to state governments to pay salaries and pensions and carry out development projects.
He pointed to projects being undertaken in Ekiti as evidence of the resources available to the state government, attributing the development to the Tinubu administration’s economic policies.
According to him, governors in the 19 states visited by the movement had also spoken about the impact of the reforms on their ability to meet financial obligations and implement projects.
Pondi urged political aspirants to explain how their programmes would improve Nigerians’ lives compared with the policies currently being pursued by the Federal Government.
He also called on APC leaders at the federal, state and local government levels to work together and ensure the donated vehicles were effectively deployed for the movement’s campaign activities.
