{"id":199715,"date":"2026-04-27T20:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally"},"modified":"2026-04-27T21:44:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:44:55","slug":"uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally","title":{"rendered":"Uzodinma, Sani, others back Oyebanji at Ekiti APC mega rally"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday formally flagged off the re-election campaign of Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, ahead of the June 20, 2026 governorship election, with a massive rally held at the 12,000-seater Ekiti Parapo Square in Ado-Ekiti.<\/p>\n<p>The high-profile event drew an array of political heavyweights, including Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors\u2019 Forum, Hope Uzodinma; Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo; Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo; Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, who chairs the APC National Campaign Council.<\/p>\n<p>Former Ekiti governors, including Ayodele Fayose, Kayode Fayemi, Segun Oni, and Niyi Adebayo, were also present, signaling rare bipartisan support and political unity.<\/p>\n<p>In his welcome address, the Ekiti APC Chairman, Barrister Sola Eleshin, described the rally as a strategic step toward electoral victory, revealing that the party had set an ambitious target of securing at least 500,000 votes for the governor.<\/p>\n<p>He disclosed that over 5,000 canvassers had been mobilised, declaring that the era of \u201cjamboree campaigns\u201d was over.<\/p>\n<p>Eleshin commended Oyebanji\u2019s performance across sectors and assured party supporters that no effort would be spared in ensuring APC\u2019s victory at the polls.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the event, APC National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Dr. Isaac Kekemeke, described the flag-off as the beginning of a decisive march toward electoral success.<\/p>\n<p>He praised the state\u2019s alignment with the Federal Government and highlighted ongoing infrastructural development, including the Ekiti airport project, urging party members to work toward achieving the set vote target.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of federal lawmakers from the state, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele said the gathering reflected widespread confidence in Oyebanji\u2019s leadership, describing him as a round peg in a round hole.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that the governor had demonstrated inclusiveness, unity, and grassroots connection, adding that the campaign would focus on showcasing his administration\u2019s achievements rather than engaging in violence or negative rhetoric.<\/p>\n<p>Former Governor Kayode Fayemi expressed appreciation to party members and residents for their continued support, recalling initial resistance to Oyebanji\u2019s candidacy in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that the governor\u2019s performance had since won over critics, urging supporters not to be complacent but to run a campaign anchored on records and principles.<\/p>\n<p>In a notable show of cross-party solidarity, former Governor Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) declared his presence was driven by Ekiti interest.<\/p>\n<p>While reaffirming his PDP membership, Fayose acknowledged Oyebanji\u2019s leadership and declared that opposition politics in the state would resume after the governor\u2019s re-election.<\/p>\n<p>The Chairman of the APC National Campaign Council, Governor Uba Sani, described the election as a renewal of the covenant between the government and the people.<\/p>\n<p>He commended Oyebanji\u2019s achievements in fiscal discipline, education, and infrastructure, noting that over 1,000 classrooms had been rehabilitated under his administration.<\/p>\n<p>Sani further framed the election as critical to the future of Ekiti and linked it to broader national politics, describing it as a referendum on President Bola Tinubu\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on behalf of APC governors, Hope Uzodinma reaffirmed their collective support for Oyebanji, describing him as a unifying figure who had fostered peace and development in the state.<\/p>\n<p>The APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, declared that the governor had effectively won the election, citing the unity within the party and the administration\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n<p>In his address, Governor Biodun Oyebanji expressed gratitude to party leaders and supporters, particularly President Bola Tinubu, whom he described as deeply supportive of Ekiti.<\/p>\n<p>He urged residents to demonstrate their appreciation by turning out in large numbers on election day to secure at least 500,000 votes for the APC.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday formally flagged off the re-election campaign of Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, ahead of the June 20, 2026 governorship election, with a massive rally held at the 12,000-seater Ekiti Parapo Square in Ado-Ekiti. The high-profile event drew an array of political heavyweights, including Imo State [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":199714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-199715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Uzodinma, Sani, others back Oyebanji at Ekiti APC mega rally - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday formally flagged off the re-election campaign of Ekiti State Governor, Bio ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uzodinma, Sani, others back Oyebanji at Ekiti APC mega rally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday formally flagged off the re-election campaign of Ekiti State Governor, Bio ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-27T19:40:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-27T20:44:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1777322679.759926.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Uzodinma, Sani, others back Oyebanji at Ekiti APC mega rally\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-27T19:40:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-27T20:44:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally\"},\"wordCount\":620,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1777322679.759926.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/uzodinma-sani-others-back-oyebanji-at-ekiti-apc-mega-rally\",\"name\":\"Uzodinma, Sani, others back Oyebanji at Ekiti APC mega rally - 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