• Describes governor’s second term bid as a ticket that deserves renewal, an investment in state’s progress, peace, future
• Stresses FG’s resolve to work with state in deepening development, expanding opportunity, strengthening security
Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti
Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tuesday, embarked on a last-minute campaign for the re-election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, for a second term ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State.
Shettima told the people that the joint ticket of Oyebanji and his deputy, Mrs. Monisade Afuye, was a ticket of balance, experience, and continuity that deserved renewal.
He said instead of a routine contest in Saturday’s governorship poll, Ekiti was standing at the gate of a larger Nigerian journey.
Addressing party faithful in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, during the APC Grand Finale Mega Rally, Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu, maintained that continuity for Oyebanji was an investment in the peace, progress, and future of the state.
Joined at the mega rally by APC governors, party leaders, National Assembly members, and ministers, among others, the vice president said, “The task before you is simple, sacred, and historic. Go out and vote. Speak to your neighbours. Speak to your families. Speak to your wards, your unions, your communities, and your friends. Tell them that continuity in Ekiti is not a favour to one man. It is an investment in the peace, progress, and future of this state.
“And so I ask you, sons and daughters of this proud land, to march to the polling units in your numbers and cast your votes for Biodun Oyebanji and his worthy Deputy, Mrs. Monisade Afuye. Give them the mandate to finish the work they have so faithfully begun. Stand with them as steadfastly as they have stood with you.”
Shettima stated that the mammoth crowd that gathered at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, venue of the mega rally in Ado Ekiti, was an indication that the people of the state were together with APC and the government at the centre, in the journey to make Nigeria better.
He extended the goodwill of Tinubu, stating that Ekiti State remains dear to the government.
Drumming support for Oyebanji and his deputy, Shettima said rather than approaching leadership as a theatre, the governor understood that “government must touch the market woman, the teacher, the civil servant, the farmer, the student, the driver, the trader, and the family waiting for hope at the end of each month”.
The vice president stated that Oyebanji had shown dedication to the welfare of Ekiti people, carried himself with humility, governed with patience, and listened with respect, while working “with the calm strength of a man who knows that power is a loan from the people”.
According to Shettima, “In Governor Oyebanji, Ekiti has a son who did not come to experiment with the state. He came prepared. He came with knowledge of the land. He came with respect for elders, with regard for institutions, and with a heart open to the young.
“He has not spent his time fighting shadows. He has spent it building bridges, strengthening trust, and keeping the machinery of government focused on service.”
He described the joint ticket as one of balance, experience, and continuity that had worked, and, therefore, deserved renewal.
Shettima said APC’s stability was not an accident but a “product of sacrifice by noble leaders like Governor Oyebanji, leaders who understand that politics without discipline becomes confusion, and ambition without order becomes injury to the people”.
He stated that while other political parties “are busy fighting themselves, quarrelling over chairs, tearing their roofs in the rain, and asking the people to trust them with a house they cannot keep standin,”, APC stayed together, disagreeing with maturity, and resolving its differences with purpose.
He promised that the federal government would work with the governor, his deputy, and the people of Ekiti “to deepen development, expand opportunity, support enterprise, strengthen security, and widen the road to shared prosperity”.
Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, described Oyebanji “as the most friendly parliamentary governor in Nigeria”.
Akpabio stated that the governor had performed excellently and deserved to be re-elected by the people.
He said, “Therefore, on election day when you go to the polling unit and collect the ballot paper, look for the broom and once you vote for the broom you have voted for the continuity of good governance of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State.”
APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, said the governor’s style of leadership exemplified the true philosophy of what APC stood for.
Yilwatda applauded the governor’s achievements in education, health services delivery, and infrastructure development.
He said, “I saw the roads that you have constructed; take a bow and take your votes.”
Earlier, Oyebanji thanked Tinubu and Shettima for their tremendous support towards the progress and development of the state since they assumed office in 2023.
The governor also expressed gratitude to the people of Ekiti for entrusting him with their mandate.
He appealed to the people to shun all forms of violence before, during, and after the June 20 governorship election in the state.
Oyebanji stated, “I don’t have much to say rather than to thank the people of Ekiti State. Close to four years ago, we entered into a social contract with you that we will serve you. You can attest to the fact that with the help of God and the support of Mr. President, we have served you well.
“My plea to you on Saturday is that, go out and cast your votes for the APC. Our symbol is the broom and when you vote for the broom you are voting for the continuation of our shared prosperity agenda.
“Please, be at peace with yourself. Don’t fight with anybody. Let us exercise our civil duty to celebrate democracy.”
Before proceeding to the venue of the mega rally, the vice president paid homage to the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, HRH Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe.
He thanked the royal father, saying he is not merely a presentation of the antiquity but a symbol of Ekiti people’s heritage.
Urging the citizens to come out en masse for the election, he said this was the first time an incumbent governor of Ekiti would be elected for a second term in office.
Shettima also urged the traditional rulers to join hands with the governor for the development of Ekiti State, citing federal appointments the state has benefited under the Tinubu administration.
Earlier, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti expressed gratitude to Tinubu and Shettima for their efforts to boost the education sector, including the establishment of NELFund, which, he said, had assisted many Ekiti indigenes.
The monarch also stated that the Tinubu administration had done a lot in terms of transport infrastructure, citing the Lagos – Calabar coastal road and other trunk A roads across the country as a testament to infrastructural development in the country.
The vice president also met with members of Ekiti State Traditional Rulers Council at Government House, where he assured them of Tinubu’s support for the traditional institution.
Chairman of the council and the Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, HRM Oba Adu Adejimi Alagbado, thanked Shettima for coming back to Ekiti, saying it is an indication of the love Mr. President has shown to the state.
He said the Tinubu administration had benefited Ekiti people, and pledged the support of all the traditional rulers to the administration.
He said they would ensure that the governor and the president were re-elected for a second term.
