Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, at the weekend, declared that both his administration and the residents of the state will deliver “maximum support” for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

While crediting the president’s economic reforms as well as the boosting of the fiscal capacity of state governments, Aiyedatiwa declared that the state will go all out to surpass the 2023 record of the highest votes for Tinubu.

The governor stated this during a courtesy visit by state, local government, and ward coordinators of ‘The Lucky Guy’ (TLG), a political mobilisation group rallying grassroots support for Tinubu’s re-election within the state under the banner of ‘AsiwajuDatiwa’.

Aiyedatiwa maintained that increased revenue allocations stemming from the president’s reforms had enabled states like Ondo to undertake more developmental projects without resorting to borrowing for project financing or salary payments.

He said: “We are happy with the increase in federal presence here in Ondo State since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office. The support given to our state by the federal government in the last two years has been unprecedented.

“We have the dualisation of the Ore-Ondo-Akure road, the establishment of the Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital, the construction of the Lagos/Calabar Coastal Highway passing through Ondo State, the giving of an aviation institution and several political appointments for sons and daughters of Ondo State.

“With these and many more, we have no reason as a state not to give our utmost support to the re-election of Mr President in 2027. You will recall that Ondo was among the states that gave him the highest vote percentage in 2023, with 69 per cent of the total votes. This time around, in 2027, we are ready to do much more than that.”

Aiyedatiwa, who commended the group for its innovation and intellectual engagement in the state’s development journey, however, urged the members to mobilise more people to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), especially at the grassroots, ahead of the next general elections.

The convener of the group, MoyinOlorun Ogunwumiju, noted that TLG was formed to promote the political leadership and ideals of Aiyedatiwa.

He added, “We are ready to be your foot soldiers in all the 18 local governments. We are itching for more responsibility, in readiness to work for the upcoming ‘AsiwajuDatiwa 2027 project’.”

On his part, the Director General of Mobilisation, Muritala Suleiman, noted that TLG was coined from Aiyedatiwa’s name to create a platform for the youths loyal to the governor and who are interested in politics but struggle to find a platform politically to showcase what they can do to add value to the political events in the state.