By our Reporter
Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, of Ondo State has expressed confidence in the state’s political structures to secure victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Aiyedatiwa gave the assurance on Tuesday during the inauguration of the Ondo State chapter of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, which unveiled 26 campaign vehicles for grassroots mobilisation across the state’s 26 constituencies.
The governor, who endorsed Tinubu’s re-election bid, described the President as a phenomenon and commended his economic reforms, infrastructure projects and student loan scheme.
Speaking during the movement’s visits to the Government House, the Council of Obas Secretariat and Democracy Park, Aiyedatiwa said door-to-door mobilisation would help address voter apathy by familiarising residents with the President and the All Progressives Congress (APC) before election day.
“As someone who is also a grassroots politician, door-to-door campaigning has a way of making people aware of what is happening, and on election day they will come out because the name of Mr President will not be new to them,” he said.
The governor highlighted projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Badagry-Sokoto Highway, while praising the student loan scheme for expanding access to higher education and promoting human capital development.
He also attributed his administration’s capacity to execute infrastructure projects partly to the Federal Government’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy, which he said had increased allocations available to states for development.
Aiyedatiwa, however, noted that the state government had its own mobilisation machinery, comprising party structures, local government and Local Council Development Area structures, transport workers and artisans, to complement the movement’s activities.
He assured the group of the government’s support and an enabling environment to campaign across the state, including adequate security. He added that the state was open to support groups working for Tinubu and other APC candidates contesting for seats in the National Assembly and the Ondo State House of Assembly.
Earlier, the delegation’s leader, Chief Kestin Ebimorbowei Pondi, who represented the movement’s convener and Director-General, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, said the 26 vehicles would take the campaign to homes, churches, mosques, markets and riverine communities.
Pondi, who is also the Managing Director of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, said the movement aimed to educate residents on why they should vote for Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 election. He challenged members to mobilise more than one million votes for the President in Ondo State.
The Ondo APC Chairman, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde, said the party had established structures capable of delivering substantial votes for Tinubu, urging members to intensify mobilisation ahead of the general elections.
The movement’s National Coordinator, Comrade Sunday Asuko, also endorsed Tinubu’s re-election, describing him as the best option for Nigeria. He urged voters to assess opposition politicians seeking to replace the current administration based on their records of achievement and called for support for all APC candidates.
At the Council of Obas Secretariat, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye, speaking on behalf of traditional rulers, pledged Ondo State’s support for Tinubu, describing the President as their son who deserved their backing.
The monarch also commended Aiyedatiwa’s administration for its efforts to improve public welfare and described fuel subsidy removal as a necessary reform that had made more resources available to state governments for development.
The event was attended by the Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami; Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji; Secretary to the State Government, Dr Taiwo Fasoranti; Chief of Staff, Prince Segun Omojuwa; members of the state legislature; Director-General of the Ondo State 2027 Presidential Election Campaign Council, Rt. Hon. Victor Olabimtan; and Director-General of OSRC Media Group, Kenneth Odusola-Stevenson.
