Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has challenged the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, APC, in the state to secure 90 per cent of the votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Oyebanji gave the target on Friday in Ado-Ekiti during the inauguration of the 157-member campaign council, which he chairs.
He urged members to intensify grassroots mobilisation and voter tracking, stressing that their responsibilities should go beyond organising rallies and political campaigns.
The governor said the council must identify registered voters who did not participate in previous elections and persuade them to turn out for the 2027 polls.
He cited his 85.7 per cent victory in the 20th of June, 2026 governorship election as a benchmark for the presidential election.
“With the calibre of people we have here, it will be a shame on all of us if we cannot pull 90 per cent.
“If we could pull 85.7 per cent in the governorship election, the least we can do for the President is 90 per cent,” he said.
Oyebanji, however, identified low voter turnout as a major challenge, noting that Ekiti had more than one million registered voters but fewer than 400,000 participated in the June 20 governorship election.
He said the disparity showed the need for the party to focus on increasing voter participation ahead of the presidential election.
“Our major work, as far as I am concerned, is not campaigning. Our major work is to identify those that opted out and did not come out to vote in June and bring them out.
Also Read: APC promises Tinubu five million votes in Lagos
“Anything other than that, we are wasting our time,” he said.
The governor directed the council to investigate why registered voters stayed away from the polls and develop strategies to encourage them to participate in the next election.
He said the exercise would involve a systematic review of voters’ registers to identify eligible voters across polling units, wards and local government areas.
Speaking on behalf of the council, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele pledged members’ commitment to achieving the target.
Bamidele described the assignment as achievable, citing the APC’s political experience, organisational capacity and grassroots structures.
He commended Oyebanji for ensuring an inclusive composition of the campaign council and said the governor’s recent re-election had given the party valuable experience and momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Earlier, the Ekiti APC Chairman, Sola Elesin, said the council was established to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
Elesin urged members to demonstrate commitment, dedication and responsibility in pursuing the party’s electoral objectives.
He expressed confidence that Ekiti would rank among the states delivering the highest number of votes for Tinubu in 2027.
NAN
