President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, urged voters in Ondo State to ensure his return with at least 1.2 million votes in the 16 January 2027 presidential election.

The president spoke at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in Akure on Wednesday.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu said he expected no less than 1.2 million votes from Ondo out of the 2.1 million registered voters in the state.

INEC declared that about 1.8 million voters have collected their Permanent Voter Cards in the state, leaving about 200,000 cards uncollected a few months before the election.

“It is our expectation that Ondo should be able to deliver 1.2 million votes out of the 1.8 million PVCs collected so far,” he said.

He also mocked his political opponents, such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the National Democratic Party (NDC), respectively, as lacking the competence and consensus to lead the country.

“Looking at the rally today in Ondo, it is shut down. Our political opponents are conducting rallies on Instagram and Facebook,” he said.

He also noted that Atiku, who hails from Adamawa State, has no alignment with most notable leaders in his state and therefore lacks the capacity to lead the country.

The president said the same about Mr Obi, whom he described as lacking the support of former and present governors of Anambra State.

“That you have the ability to import cheap wine from South Africa, does not mean you can govern Nigeria,” The president said of Mr Obi, adding that the country had fared better under the current administration and deserving the votes of all Nigerians.

The Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while delivering his welcome address, promised that the state would ensure it delivered nothing less than one million votes for President Tinubu during the election.

He said the president’s reforms had trickled down to the masses of Ondo in the form of developments, including key appointments such as three ministers and heads of agencies.

READ ALSO: 2027: Don’t use Ibom Deep Seaport for political bargain, CSO tells Tinubu

But the Director General of the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, Abdullaziz Yari, said that, given the benefits accruing to Ondo State from the Tinubu administration, the president deserved more than one million votes from the state.

Mr Yari urged party leaders and other members to unite to ensure they deliver the maximum votes in January.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodima, while addressing the rally, urged Ondo voters to collect their PVCs if they want to deliver the pledged one million votes.

He also urged the various groups within the party to close ranks and end the bickering in order to be able to garner the required votes for the president.

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, also harped on unity among leaders of the party in Ondo State following reports that there are various factions running parallel campaigns for the president.

Mr Bamidele, an indigene of the neighbouring Ekiti State, said he had a message from President Tinubu to Ondo APC, urging party leaders to recognise the governor as the coordinator of the campaigns in the state and to team up with him to deliver votes during the election.

The rally was attended by former governors of Ondo and Edo States, Olusegun Mimiko and Adams Oshiomole. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was also present.

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2027: At Akure campaign rally, Tinubu demands no less than 1.2m votes from Ondo voters

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