Aiyedatiwa backs Tinubu for 2027 as Ondo campaign group unveils 26 buses

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has thrown his weight behind President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid, saying the President has shown the courage and vision to turn Nigeria around.

Aiyedatiwa spoke in Akure on Tuesday at the launch of the Ondo chapter of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, a support group working for Tinubu's return in 2027. Twenty-six buses were unveiled at the event, one for each of the state's 26 constituencies.

The governor said the door-to-door style of campaigning helps close the gap between politicians and ordinary voters, who often stay away on election day because the candidates feel distant.

"Door-to-door campaigning has a way of making people aware of what is happening," he said, adding that voters will turn out because the President's name will no longer be new to them.

He listed the removal of the fuel subsidy, efforts to steady the economy, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Badagry-Sokoto Highway and the student loan scheme as reasons he believes the President deserves another term. On the loan scheme, he said a well-educated nation has been pulled out of poverty and ignorance.

Aiyedatiwa also said federal reforms had raised the money flowing to states, which he credited partly for his own administration's infrastructure work.

Who is behind the movement

The delegation was led by Chief Kestin Ebimorbowei Pondi, managing director of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, standing in for the movement's convener and director-general, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, widely known as Tompolo.

Pondi said the buses would carry the message to homes, churches, mosques, markets and riverine communities, and urged members to deliver more than one million votes for Tinubu in Ondo. He said the vote is set for January 16, 2027.

APC state chairman Kolawole Babatunde said the party already has the structures to bring in a strong vote, while the movement's national coordinator, Comrade Sunday Asuko, called Tinubu the best option for the country and asked voters to judge opponents by their records.

At the Council of Obas Secretariat, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye, who spoke for traditional rulers, said Ondo would back the President, describing him as their son. He also defended the fuel subsidy removal, saying it has left states with more money for development.

Aiyedatiwa said Ondo already has its own mobilisation network, including party structures, local government and council development area officials, transport workers and artisans, and promised security and a free hand for the group's activities.

What happens next

The movement says it plans to spread its door-to-door campaign across the state ahead of the 2027 general election. For now, the push is a show of support from the ruling party in Ondo rather than a formal declaration by the President.