Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

Amid a crowd that is unprecedented in Ekiti State’s political history, leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), political leaders and stakeholders as well as non-partisan groups, yesterday  endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Biodun Oyebanji for second term in their respective offices.

Endorsed alongside Oyebanji, at the well attended event held at the Ekiti Parapo pavilion, Ado-Ekiti, was his Deputy, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye. The Governor of Ondo State Governor, Mr. Lucky Ayedatiwa, former Governors of Ekiti State, Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose and Segun Oni, as well as the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, took turns to eulogise President Tinubu and Governor Oyebanji and went ahead to endorse them for re-election in the 2026 Ekiti governorship election and the 2027 presidential election.

 The ranks of the ruling APC, also swelled at the event, with the defection of former Senate Minority Leader and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Biodun Olujimi, former Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Obafemi Adewale (SAN) and a member of the state Assembly, Hon Babatunde Omolayo, together with their supporters.

The Senate Leader, Senator   Bamidele, flanked by serving and former members of the National Assembly from Ekiti State, moved the motion for  Tinubu’s endorsement for a second term in office. The motion was seconded by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Bamisile.

Thereafter, a letter communicating the  endorsement of the president  was presented to the National Secretary of APC, Senator Bashiru Ajibola.

In the same fashion, the Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Adeoye Aribasoye, flanked by members of the 7th Assembly, moved the motion for Oyebanji’s endorsement for second term and was seconded by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon Bolaji Olagbaju and the motion was ratified by the crowd, who chorused “yes.”

In his address,  Governor Oyebanji, said the endorsement would further spur him to rev the pedal of development for the people, saying he was touched by the congregation of political heavyweights , who came to ratify his election for second term.

As a rare show of political sportsmanship, Oyebanji said the endorsement  doesn’t abridge anybody’s rights from contesting for the governorship on the platform of APC, saying the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria doesn’t preclude those interested from taking a plunge.

Sending a  signal to the massing  opposition, Oyebanji stated that Ekiti won’t abandon APC for any other party, describing Tinubu as a President in whom Ekiti is well pleased, assuring that the state will ramp up its voting strength in support of the president.

“On behalf of President Tinubu, I thank you for this vote of confidence you are passing in us today. This is the first time President Tinubu will be endorsed by a state in the South-west. In 2023, Ekiti State was the first state to deliver victory to the President and we are telling him that we will do better in 2027.”

Governor Oyebanji stated that his administration, as a demonstration of loyalty to President Tinubu, embarked on  total reconstruction of the 19 kilometres Ado-Iworoko -Ifaki road, disclosing that the federal government has been fair to Ekiti in the execution of road, education and health projects.

“I am deeply touched by what you are doing today. I will continue to serve you well. I won’t be proud in .my service to you. President Tinubu asked me to tell you that you have nothing to fear, that everything is being emplaced to make the lives of Nigerians better.

“The party we love in Ekiti State is APC, there is no other party. We are for Asiwaju. We are assuring our new members that their rights will be protected fully in this party. Senator Olujimi and other new members and those who will still join us have nothing to fear.”

In his address full of encomiums for Oyebanji, the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Ayedatiwa, said the combined forces of President Tinubu and Governor Oyebanji will catapult Ekiti’s economy to enviable height if given a beneficial second term opportunity.

“Governor Oyebanji is not just winning this election, but he must win overwhelmingly. With the crowd I am seeing here today, I know you are going to support him in the primary and the election coming up next year. All the 23 governors in APC have endorsed President Tinubu and we are also coming here in Ekiti to do same for Governor Oyebanji”. 

Justifying the endorsement, former Governor Ayo  Fayose, described the event as epochal and unique, because it brought all political heavyweights together, adding that he is supporting the duo of President Tinubu and Oyebanji without reservation.

“You know my record in terms of election winning in Ekiti State. I won all the 16 local governments and 168 out of 177 wards in this state. I want to handover that record to Governor Oyebanji in this election. I want you to support him, because we all love his humility and sense of delivery. We want him to win in all the 16 local government areas and be the first Governor to win in all the 177 wards”

Lending credence to what Fayose affirmed, former governors Segun Oni and Niyi Adebayo, maintained that  Tinubu deserved being endorsed, because Nigeria of our dream is gradually taking roots  under the APC federal government

They described Governor Oyebanji as a good and marketable product, whose political mastery and ingenuity are bringing all political tendencies together in Ekiti State, saying Ekiti must be part of Tinubu’s revolution.

In his submission, Senator Bamidele, described the endorsement as  apt and reasonable for President Tinubu and governor Oyebanji  to consolidate democracy gains for Nigerians, so that the generation yet unborn can praise the current leadership.

“President Tinubu and Governor Oyebanji have shown how to be humble in position of leadership. They showed how to descend from the Olympian heights to the level of the people. They deserved being ratified for second term. President Tinubu had taken hard decisions. This he did for the sake of all  Nigerians and generation yet unborn.

The APC National National Secretary, Senator Basiru Ajibola, saluted Ekiti politicians  for endorsing President Tinubu to lead the country till 2031, saying this solidarity was a confirmation that the current APC led federal government has not disappointed Nigerians.

The APC scribe who counseled the Yoruba people against treachery, appreciated Governor Oyebanji for uplifting the bar of governance in Ekiti to combat poverty, unemployment and other socioeconomic maladies confronting the citizens.

The APC National Chairman, after receiving the endorsement letters, said: “I have received the letters that President Bola Tinubu and governor Oyebanji and his Deputy should continue till 2030 and 2031. Though, in law, we are to conduct a primary for all interested governorship aspirants, which we promise will be free and fair.

“With this endorsement coming from the leader of APC in Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, stakeholders and key leaders of the opposition, we are going to relay your position to the leadership of our party. I want to thank you for supporting our party”.

Senator Olujimi, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, stated that President Tinubu and Governor Oyebanji will spend second term, whether the opposition likes it or not, describing this as the best way to set Nigeria and Ekiti on the path of greatness.

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