2027: NCDC member rallies voters for Tinubu’s re-election

Dr Atinuke Owolab (second right) and other stakeholders at the event. CREDIT: Abiodun Nejo

All Progressives Congress chieftain and member of the North Central Development Commission, Dr Atinuke Owolabi, has emphasised the need for sustained voter education to ensure increased participation and the exercise of voting rights in the 2027 general elections.

Owolabi, the South-West representative in the NCDC, spoke at Aramoko Ekiti on Saturday during an APC Voter Education Exercise/Aramoko Community Engagement with the theme, ‘My vote, my voice’, which she organised to garner support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Ekiti Central Senatorial District representative, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.

The event featured the unveiling of a ‘Voter Education Handbook’ for the re-election of President Tinubu and Senator Bamidele, the distribution of the booklets to participants and the sensitisation of potential voters on voting rights to prevent invalid votes.

The APC chieftain, who said records showed that 73 per cent of registered voters in the community failed to participate in the 2023 presidential election, said, “This voter education sensitisation is necessary to reduce voter apathy, reduce the instances of invalid votes and increase the number of votes for President Tinubu and Senator Bamidele in the presidential and senatorial elections respectively on January 16, 2027”.

She urged residents to vote massively for the re-election of Tinubu and Bamidele, saying this would translate to accelerated development for the community, Ekiti State and indeed Nigeria.

Owolabi said, “We are here to sensitise our people on the correct way to vote. When they go to the polling units, they must ensure that they vote correctly. I believe voter education is key. If we cannot completely eliminate rejected ballots, we should at least be able to reduce them in Ekiti State, particularly in Aramoko, my community.

“Today, we have unveiled a voter education handbook. The purpose of this handbook is to teach our people what elections are all about, to make them understand how to identify their polling units and how to participate in the electoral process in the right way.

“We have the population, and we have the voters. What is really lacking is adequate information. Our people need to understand the right way to vote. Our people have to participate in their numbers in the electoral process and vote right. We want overwhelming votes for Tinubu and Bamidele to attract development to our community.

“Let us reflect on the figures from the 2023 general elections. These figures provide an important basis for understanding voter participation in our state and community. According to the reported 2023 presidential election collation figures, Ekiti State had 988,923 registered voters.

“Of this number, 315,058 voters were accredited, 308,171 valid votes were recorded, and 6,301 votes were rejected. This means that a substantial proportion of registered voters did not participate in the presidential election.

“At home here, available ward-level records for Aramoko I and Aramoko II indicate a combined 17,426 registered voters, while the reported total votes cast was 4,680. This suggests that approximately 12,746 registered voters did not cast their votes in the 2023 presidential election. Put simply, out of every 100 registered voters in the two wards, approximately 27 voted, while 73 did not.

“We must educate our people on how to vote and correctly mark their ballot papers to avoid rejected votes,” the APC chieftain said.

Owolabi, who praised Bamidele for his interventions in the community, including the construction of market stalls and provision of solar-powered lights, said the lawmaker had promised to do more, hence the need for residents to cast their votes for Tinubu and the National Assembly member in January.

The NCDC member appealed to women to increase their participation in the electoral process, assuring them that Tinubu had promised to increase the number of women in his cabinet and other appointive positions.