Ekiti State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has urged residents to ensure a peaceful conduct of the June 20 governorship election, saying his re-election bid is not worth the blood of any citizen.
Oyebanji made the call on Friday while addressing campaign rallies in Emure, Ise/Orun, and Ikere Local Government Areas as part of his statewide engagement ahead of the poll.
Speaking in Ikere-Ekiti to round off the day’s campaign, the governor said his administration would continue to promote peaceful and issue-based campaigns. He noted that since the campaign tour began on Monday, no incident of violence had been recorded and urged that the momentum be sustained until the results are declared.
At Emure Ekiti earlier in the day, Oyebanji appealed to APC members, members of other political parties, and residents to avoid any act that could lead to loss of life during the election. He said his quest for a second term should not come at the expense of human lives, adding that he hopes to secure re-election in the atmosphere of peace for which the state has become known under his administration.
“As we go back to our wards and polling units, let us be at peace with one another. The APC is a party of peace, a party of order and a party of process. We should not fight with anybody,” he said.
“Our ambition, my ambition and the ambition of every other person in Ekiti State do not worth the blood of any Ekiti man. By God’s grace, this election will hold and we will all be alive and in good health when our government is re-elected.”
The governor highlighted ongoing and completed projects in Ikere, including the Ikere-Igbara Odo Road, Ikere-Ilawe Road, and the Ikere-Akure Highway executed by the President Bola Tinubu administration, as reasons for voters to retain the APC in power at both state and federal levels. He urged party members to mobilize eligible voters with PVCs to achieve a target of 500,000 votes.
In Emure and Ise Ekiti, Oyebanji said the APC was targeting 80 percent of registered voters in the areas. He said the party’s focus on roads, schools, youth agriculture programs, and security had earned the support of residents, including some defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who joined the APC at the Emure rally.
He also announced that work would soon begin on the Ise-Ijan Road and the Olowe Museum project to boost transport, commerce, agriculture, and tourism in Ise/Orun.
Traditional rulers in the visited towns offered prayers for the governor’s re-election and commended his administration’s performance since 2022.
The rallies were attended by lawmakers, including Hon. Adeniyi Ojuawo and Hon. Femi Bamisile; Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye; Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Bolaji Olagbaju; Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Habibat Adubiaro; and other officials of the campaign council.
