Standing before a crowd in Akure, President Bola Tinubu made his expectations clear: Ondo State must deliver no fewer than 1.2 million votes for him in the 2027 elections. The number was not a suggestion. It was a demand.
Tinubu used the rally to call on members of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo to close ranks and present a united front ahead of the election cycle. Party unity, he made clear, is non-negotiable if that vote target is to be met.
He also moved to settle the question of leadership within the state's campaign structure, recognising Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the official coordinator of his campaigns in Ondo. The move signals that Aiyedatiwa will be central to how the president's 2027 push is organised and executed on the ground.
With two years still to go before the election, the Akure rally suggests the Tinubu camp is already in mobilisation mode. Whether Ondo delivers on that 1.2 million figure will be one of the numbers to watch.
Originally published by Premium Times.