President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians, particularly voters in Ekiti State, to reject the presidential ambition of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, arguing that he lacks the political support of former governors and other influential stakeholders in his home state of Adamawa.
Tinubu, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Thursday, said Atiku’s inability to secure the backing of former governors from Adamawa State raised questions about his political relevance and grassroots acceptance.
He challenged the former Vice-President to demonstrate his political strength at home before seeking the mandate of Nigerians, noting that politics was about grassroots mobilisation and not social media popularity.
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“With all due respect to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, since the advent of the current democratic dispensation, we have had about five different governors in Adamawa. Not a single one of them is standing with him,” Shettima said.
He listed former governors Boni Haruna, Murtala Nyako, Bindo Jibrilla, Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri among those he claimed were not supporting Atiku, adding that they were aligned with the APC and backing Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The Vice-President urged voters to assess political candidates based on their achievements rather than sentiments, insisting that the Tinubu administration had taken difficult but necessary decisions to reposition the country’s economy.
Shettima recalled that Ekiti State delivered 201,495 votes for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, winning all 16 local government areas, and expressed optimism that the state would deliver between 90 and 95 per cent of the votes in the January 16, 2027 election.
He also commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his re-election victory in the June 20 governorship poll, in which he secured 85.7 per cent of the votes, describing the outcome as evidence of the APC’s growing acceptance in the state.
Highlighting federal government interventions in Ekiti, Shettima listed the ongoing reconstruction of the Akure-Ekiti and Itawure-Aramoko roads, the establishment of the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences Iyin-Ekiti, and the approval of a mining and geosciences institute for the state.
He added that the administration had supported students through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), while also facilitating the establishment of an ICT experience centre at Ekiti State University.
Shettima said the administration remained committed to completing ongoing projects and delivering on its promises, urging Nigerians to renew Tinubu’s mandate to enable the government to consolidate its achievements.
In his remarks, Oyebanji described the rally as an opportunity for Ekiti people to reciprocate Tinubu’s support for the state, saying the President had demonstrated unprecedented commitment to its development since its creation.
He recalled that Tinubu, during the 2022 governorship campaign, had appealed to Ekiti voters to support both his presidential ambition and Oyebanji’s governorship bid, a request he said the people honoured through their votes.
The governor said the President’s support for his administration had been unprecedented, adding that the 85.7 per cent of votes secured in the June 20 governorship election reflected the people’s satisfaction with the APC-led government.
Oyebanji, who was joined at the rally by the governorship candidates of the PDP, SDP and APM in the June election, said their decision to support the APC had further strengthened the party’s chances in the state.
He assured Shettima that Ekiti was politically united behind Tinubu, pledging that the state would improve on its previous electoral performance in the 2027 presidential election.
“Come January 16, we are going to double the tally of what we did in June this year. We are one and united,” he said.
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, described Tinubu as a performer and reformer, citing the administration’s tax reforms and education interventions as evidence of its commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerians.
He said the new tax regime had exempted small businesses and low-income earners with annual earnings below N100 million from tax obligations, while NELFUND had expanded access to higher education for financially disadvantaged students.
Yilwatda urged Ekiti residents to vote for Tinubu, the party’s National Assembly candidates and its candidates for the state House of Assembly in the forthcoming elections.
Similarly, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, called on Ekiti voters to deliver at least 800,000 votes for Tinubu, representing about 90 per cent of the expected votes in the state.
The former governor of Zamfara State said the APC-led administration had recorded progress in addressing economic challenges, including inflation, food prices and exchange-rate pressures, and challenged opposition parties to explain what they intended to do differently.
He also expressed confidence in the support of northern voters for Tinubu, saying the President had earned another opportunity to complete the reforms initiated by his administration.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District, defended the Tinubu administration’s economic, security and workers’ welfare policies.
He said the President approved a recent N70,000 allowance to improve workers’ living conditions and had strengthened the country’s security architecture through additional military formations and recruitment into security agencies.
Oshiomhole also criticised previous administrations, especially under Atiku as vice president, over the decline of major industries, including textile companies, Michelin and Dunlop, arguing that the Tinubu government was taking steps to address the country’s economic challenges through its reforms.
The rally was attended by Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his wife; his counterpart in Ondo, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; former governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru; former governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole; APC National Secretary, Dr Ajibola Basiru; Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, among others.
Also, former Ekiti governors, including Kayode Fayemi, Ayodele Fayose and Niyi Adebayo, alongside National Assembly members, party leaders, traditional rulers and APC supporters attended the rally.
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