The All Progressives Congress (APC) has set a target of at least 800,000 votes for President Bola Tinubu in Ekiti State in the 2027 presidential election, calling on party leaders and supporters to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the poll.
The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Senator Abdulaziz Yari, announced the target during the party’s presidential campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti, expressing confidence that the state would deliver an overwhelming victory for Tinubu.
Yari recalled that Tinubu secured about 80 per cent of the votes cast in Ekiti during the 2023 presidential election, arguing that the President’s interventions in infrastructure and other sectors deserved even greater support.
He noted that Ekiti had about 1.08 million registered voters, with more than 900,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected, urging the party to mobilise effectively to secure at least 800,000 votes for the President.
He also called on Governor Biodun Oyebanji and other political leaders to take the campaign message to the grassroots, insisting that Tinubu had demonstrated commitment to the development of the state.
Earlier, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, presented the party’s candidates, beginning with Tinubu and extending to its senatorial, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly candidates.
Yilwatda urged residents to support all APC candidates in the forthcoming elections, stressing the need for the party to retain the Presidency and strengthen its representation in the National Assembly and state legislature.
Describing Tinubu as a performer and reformer, the APC chairman highlighted the administration’s tax reforms, particularly the exemption of small businesses with annual turnovers below N100 million from tax obligations.
He said the policy was designed to protect small-scale entrepreneurs and low-income earners from unnecessary tax burdens.
Also speaking, former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, challenged opposition parties to explain what they would do differently if elected, arguing that the Tinubu administration had introduced reforms aimed at repositioning the economy and improving living conditions.
Oshiomhole highlighted the administration’s interventions in education, workers’ welfare, security and industrial development.
He said the expansion of universities and other tertiary institutions, alongside the introduction of the student loan scheme, had created more opportunities for young Nigerians to access education and acquire relevant skills.
The senator also blamed the economic policies of previous administrations, in which some opposition figures served, for the collapse of several Nigerian industries, particularly the textile sector.
According to him, reviving local industries and expanding productive capacity remain sustainable approaches to tackling unemployment and poverty.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Kashim Shettima urged the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other opposition parties to present their records and achievements to Nigerians as a basis for seeking their votes.
Shettima also appealed to Ekiti residents to give Tinubu 90 per cent of their votes in the 2027 presidential election, expressing confidence in the state’s continued support for the APC.
The Vice-President, who spoke at the campaign rally, thanked Ekiti residents for supporting Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election and Governor Oyebanji in the recent governorship election, where the governor secured re-election with 85.7 per cent of the votes.
In his remarks, Oyebanji expressed confidence in Tinubu’s victory in the state, declaring that there was nothing standing between Ekiti and the President’s re-election.
He added that, by the grace of God, Ekiti would be among the first states to have its election results announced.
