A former deputy governor in Ekiti State, Abiodun Aluko, says all past governors of the state are backing the second-term bid of Governor Biodun Oyebanji.

Aluko, who chairs a 24-member committee coordinating Oyebanji’s state-wide endorsement, made the declaration  on Thursday in Ado Ekiti during the inauguration of sub-committees set up to coordinate the endorsement programme.

According to him, the support was not induced by fear or coercion but was a voluntary expression of confidence in Oyebanji’s leadership.

“The endorsements by the former governors were not engineered by fear or coercion, but are natural responses — obviously out of their freewill — to a successor that has delivered beyond expectations,” he said.

He clarified that the endorsement committee was not formed by the governor himself, but by concerned stakeholders exercising their constitutional rights.

The sub-committees inaugurated include the Central Organising Committee/Budget headed by Aluko himself; the Fundraising Committee chaired by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; the Security Committee led by retired General Ebenezer Ogundana; the Media Committee chaired by Taiwo Olatunbosun; the Mobilisation and Entertainment Committee led by House of Representatives member Femi Bamisile; the Venue Committee headed by the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye; and the Medical Committee chaired by Dr. Banji Filani.

Aluko noted that the proposed state-wide endorsement event would serve as a unification of the various declarations of support for Governor Oyebanji already expressed by key stakeholders across the state.

“All former governors in the state have called and expressed their support for Governor Oyebanji’s second term in office. If almost everybody in the state is rooting for the governor and saying he has tremendously impacted the state, what can we do but help midwife the process for a seamless transition?”

Dismissing criticisms from a group claiming the endorsement process contradicts President Bola Tinubu’s call for internal party democracy, Aluko questioned the consistency of such arguments.

“Were these critics not aware that the Progressive Governors Forum has already endorsed President Tinubu as the APC’s sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election?”

He noted that endorsements for Oyebanji had emerged from all three senatorial districts, various groups, and institutions,  including the APC State Caucus, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, teachers across the 16 local governments, NULGE, student and youth bodies, and traditional institutions.

“These events were obviously organised independently by groups genuinely moved by the governor’s performance,” Aluko said. “Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Why should people be harassed for supporting or appreciating a governor whose impact has been significantly felt across all sectors — including road infrastructure, healthcare, workers’ and pensioners’ welfare, agriculture, education, and human capital development?”

He called on Ekiti residents to continue supporting the governor with prayers, stressing that Oyebanji’s administration has brought sustained peace and rapid development to the state.