Shettima seeks Ekiti monarchs’ support for Oyebanji’s re-election

Vice President Kashim Shettima has enlisted the support of the traditional rulers in Ekiti State towards ensuring victory for Governor Biodun Oyebanji in Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Speaking during an interactive session with the monarchs under the aegis of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers at the Government House in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Shettima said the support of the traditional rulers would be needed by Oyebanji to achieve a historic back-to-back victory for the first time in the state’s political history.

The vice president said the assemblage of top echelon of governance in Nigeria which he led to Ekiti State to canvass votes for Oyebanji at the All Progressives Congress (APC) final mega rally showed the seriousness which the party attached to the governorship poll.

“The whole Nigeria is assembled here (Ekiti). l led, on behalf of the president, a delegation that included Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, 15 APC governors, senators, House of Representatives members, ministers, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, senior party leaders, and other political office holders at the federal level,” he stated.

Shettima stressed that President Bola Tinubu holds Ekiti State in high esteem which accounted for his magnanimity in ensuring that indigenes of the state occupy key positions in his administration including the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede; Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele; the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake; Managing Director of Federal Housing Authority, Oyetunde Ojo; and the Chairman of South-West Development Commission, Olubunmi Adetumbi.

Shettima emphasised that the APC would not be complacent and would work hard for Oyebanji’s victory, noting that the monarchs’ support would be needed because of their influence in their domains, their visibility in the grassroots, and their value in achieving the desired victory for the incumbent governor and his party.

The vice president recalled that Ekiti’s result for the 2023 presidential election was the first to be declared in Nigeria with Tinubu garnering 201,494 votes representing 67 per cent of the total votes cast which had been declared for over 24 hours before results from other states started coming in and served as a mark of affection by the people of Ekiti State for the president and his party.

Describing security as a continuous process, Shettima enjoined the traditional rulers to be more watchful and be involved in intelligence gathering to assist the security agencies in defeating insecurity and fostering peace building in their domains.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado, who described Oyebanji as a good material to showcase, lauded Tinubu for his support to Oyebanji.

The monarch said Tinubu’s support made Oyebanji to achieve monumental success in transforming Ekiti State.

Oba Alagbado, who is the Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, said “the Kabiyesis are in total support of the governor” and the re-election aspiration of Tinubu.