Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Dr Oluwole Oluyede, on Tuesday led thousands of supporters on a mega walk in Ado-Ekiti to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The mobilisation, organised by the Oluyede Progressive Alliance for Renewed Hope Agenda (OPARHA), saw supporters march from Ajilosun to Fajuyi Park, where they were addressed by Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, Oluyede and other political leaders.

The event, tagged “OPARHA Renewed Hope Mega Walk 2026,” had as its theme: “20,000 Steps. One Hope. One Nigeria.”

The mobilisation brought together supporters from different political tendencies, with Oluyede declaring that OPARHA would work to deliver 90 per cent of Ekiti’s votes to Tinubu in 2027.

Oluyede, who contested the June 20, 2026 governorship election on the PDP platform, said the group would take its mobilisation beyond the mega walk to communities across the state.

“We are going to win this election with 90 per cent. We are going to work hard to make sure that we deliver 90 per cent for him,” he told the crowd at Fajuyi Park.

He said OPARHA members would embark on door-to-door mobilisation across Ekiti’s 16 local government areas and 177 wards to canvass support for the President.

Oluyede described the 90 per cent target as ambitious but achievable through sustained grassroots mobilisation, adding that OPARHA also sought to build a political bridge among different groups and strengthen the relationship between Ekiti and the Federal Government.

He urged Tinubu to continue to prioritise the development of Ekiti, saying the support being mobilised for the President should be matched by sustained attention to the state’s needs.

Oyebanji backs cross-party mobilisation

Oyebanji described the mobilisation as evidence that political differences should not prevent Ekiti people from working together in the interest of the state.

He commended Oluyede for setting aside partisan differences and mobilising his supporters for Tinubu’s re-election.

The governor also praised the peaceful conduct of the 2026 governorship election, saying it reflected the vision of the state’s founding fathers.

“What is happening today speaks to the aspirations of the founding fathers of Ekiti. When they were fighting for state creation, our founding fathers desired an Ekiti where all of us would be one,” Oyebanji said.

He described Oluyede’s decision to support Tinubu as a sacrifice in the broader interest of Ekiti.

“Any leader that loves his people will not mind to sacrifice, he will not mind to go through pains, and that is what is happening today,” he said.

Oyebanji said the emerging cooperation between him and Oluyede demonstrated that politicians could work together despite belonging to different parties.

He urged APC and PDP supporters backing Tinubu to cooperate at the grassroots and avoid unnecessary rivalry.

The governor described Tinubu’s re-election as “existential” for Ekiti, citing federal interventions and infrastructure projects which he said had benefited the state.

“In our 30 years of existence as a state, there has been no President, living or dead, that has been so good to Ekiti people as this man,” he said.

Oyebanji cited federal road projects, including the Ado-Ekiti–Ifaki axis, among the interventions he said had benefited the state.

The Ekiti State Government had previously confirmed that the Tinubu administration approved the inclusion of the Itawure–Aramoko–Ado-Ekiti and Aramoko–Ijero–Ido–Ifaki roads in the 2026 Federal Government budget.

The governor has also credited the Federal Government with supporting other road projects and interventions in the state, including the Ado-Iworoko–Ifaki road and the Ado-Akure route.

Oluyede, Oyebanji deepen cooperation

The Ado-Ekiti mobilisation is the latest public expression of political cooperation between Oluyede and Oyebanji following the 2026 governorship election.

Oluyede has said his decision to support Tinubu’s re-election does not amount to abandoning his political identity, but reflects his stated desire to place what he considers the broader interests of Nigeria and Ekiti above partisan differences.

The PDP chieftain has also said his consultations were aimed at bringing members of different political tendencies together around the 2027 presidential election and the development of Ekiti.

Oyebanji has repeatedly called for increased support for Tinubu in 2027. At a stakeholder engagement in Ifaki-Ekiti on September 23, the governor said Ekiti would take the President’s re-election seriously and called for intensified mobilisation to increase his votes in the state.

As the OPARHA mobilisation moves beyond the Ado-Ekiti mega walk, Oluyede said the group would deepen its grassroots engagement across the state.

The mobilisation brings together political actors from different backgrounds around a common presidential campaign, with Oluyede setting a 90 per cent vote target for Tinubu and Oyebanji calling for cooperation between APC and PDP supporters backing the President.