2027: Tinubu Will Poll Up To 700,000 Votes In Ekiti – Oyebanji

Ekiti State governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will secure between 600,000 and 700,000 votes in Ekiti State in the 2027 presidential election, citing the steady growth in electoral support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Oyebanji spoke with State House correspondents after meeting President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, alongside the Senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele.

The meeting was the governor’s first with the president since he won re-election for a second term in last month’s governorship election in Ekiti state tate.

Asked about the president’s chances in the 2027 general election, Oyebanji said the outlook was “very bright,” pointing to the party’s improving electoral performance over the years.

“Well, it’s very bright. Let me paint a scenario. In 2022 when we first contested, we won the election with 187,000 votes. Six months after, when the President ran and I was just a few months in office, we upped it to 210,000.

“This 2026 governorship election has posted 318,000, so you can now extrapolate and see that in 2027 our target actually is to have 600,000 to 700,000, and it is doable,” the governor said.

Oyebanji also reflected on his historic re-election, becoming the first governor in Ekiti state to secure a second consecutive term through re-election.

He attributed the victory to God’s grace and President Tinubu’s support.

“Well, it’s not about what I’ve done differently, it’s about just two factors: the grace of God, that’s number one, and two, the support of the President that enabled us to deliver on our promises to our people. So, these are the two factors that led to the result we saw two weeks ago,” he said.

The governor pledged to run an inclusive administration in his second term, saying the election was over and it was time to return to governance.

2574According to him, he had already reached out to the two other governorship candidates, noting that he called both of them after the election and, alongside the chairman of his campaign council, visited one of them.

“I had an understanding with him, and once I get back to Ekiti I will visit the other one. They’ve assured me of their cooperation because election has ended, politics has ended.

“We have to move back to governance, and I told them that I would need all of them, their wisdom, suggestions and advice in ensuring that we continue to deliver to our people,” he said.

On his agenda for a second term, Oyebanji said his administration would continue to implement the state’s 30-year development plan.

“I have my job cut out for me. We have a 30-year development plan that I’m following, so we will continue to diligently follow that plan. We are not going to do anything differently because that 30-year development plan is the basis upon which our yearly budget is built and upon which the manifesto is crafted,” he said.

The governor also reiterated his support for the establishment of state police, saying Ekiti was ready for the initiative.

“NEC has met and most states have submitted their position. We are ready for state police, and we are thankful to the National Assembly for the amendments to the Constitution,” he said.

Oyebanji added that governors were awaiting the transmission of the constitutional amendment to the State Houses of Assembly and were prepared to give it speedy approval to enable implementation.