Kashim Shettima, Vice-President, has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State to secure between 90 and 95 % of the votes cast in the January 16, 2027 presidential election, citing the party’s electoral performance in the state and growing support for President Bola Tinubu.
Shettima made the appeal on Thursday at the APC presidential campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti, where he thanked voters for supporting Tinubu in 2023 and Governor Abiodun Oyebanji in the recent governorship election.
He recalled that Ekiti delivered 201,495 votes to Tinubu in 2023, with the APC winning all 16 local government areas, three senatorial seats and six House of Representatives constituencies.
Read also: Wike warns of post-presidential election shake-up
The Vice-President also disclosed that three opponents who contested against Oyebanji on the platforms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) had joined the APC campaign to support Tinubu’s re-election.
Dismissing the opposition’s social media presence as insufficient to translate into electoral support, Shettima said, “The opposition can rake and rant, but there are no polling booths on Instagram or on Facebook.”
He questioned the political influence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in Adamawa, noting that former governors Jibrilla Bindow, Murtala Nyako, Boni Haruna, Bala Ngilari and incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri were not backing him.
Read also: Court ruling plunges ADC into crisis, threatening Atiku’s 2027 presidential bid
“If you cannot control your own state, if you are not relevant in your home base, how can you tell others to elect you?” he asked.
Shettima argued that elections were determined by grassroots mobilisation and political structures rather than sentiments, urging opposition parties to demonstrate their achievements to Nigerians.
Highlighting the Tinubu administration’s interventions in Ekiti, he listed federal road projects, the establishment of the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, student loans through NELFUND and plans for a mining and geosciences institute.
“We seek your mandate to complete the work we have begun,” he said. Shettima added that the administration remained committed to delivering ongoing and planned projects.
Read also: INEC cautions media against fake election results, deepfakes ahead 2027
Also speaking, Nentawe Yilwatda, APC National Chairman, urged Ekiti voters to return Tinubu, APC senators, members of the House of Representatives and state lawmakers in 2027.
Abdul’aziz Yari, former Zamfara governor, similarly called for at least 800,000 votes for Tinubu in Ekiti, arguing that the administration’s economic reforms and interventions in education had provided grounds for seeking a second term.
Yari, the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council also appealed to voters in Northern Nigeria to support Tinubu, saying the President had helped northern Nigerians attain leadership positions in the country.
Related News
Source: