Ondo: Oshiomhole, Mimiko praise Tunji-Ojo as Tinubu targets 1.2m votes
Former Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, and the Senator representing Edo North, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, have praised the Minister of Interior, Hon Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for his performance in office and the reforms he has delivered under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The two leaders spoke on Wednesday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally at the Akure Township Stadium, where party leaders gathered to rally support for President Tinubu ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
“I will also recognise a minister who has done us proud in Ondo State by his performance in the job that the President has given him, and I am talking about the Minister of Interior of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Hon Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, popularly known as BTO,” Mimiko said.
The former governor, who is now backing Tinubu’s reelection bid, pledged to work with other leaders in the state to deliver votes for the President as well as all APC senatorial and House of Representatives candidates. He also commended Tinubu for building consensus among the country’s political elite on major national issues, including the proposed establishment of state police.
Oshiomhole, a former Governor of Edo State, pointed to the minister’s reforms at the country’s airports and in passport administration as clear proof of the President’s reform agenda.
“And the minister who has made it possible for me to pass through the airport just with my passport, without any immigration officer having to ask any question. When we say that the President is reforming Nigeria, we have huge evidence to that effect. The minister that issues passports from Nigeria to Chicago, to Japan, is here, and when the President needed not just a minister, he found one in BTO,” Oshiomhole said.
He urged Nigerians, particularly young people, to support Tinubu’s reelection, arguing that the country needs statesmen rather than petty traders in politics.
The tributes came at a rally where Ondo’s representation in the federal cabinet was a recurring theme. In his welcome address, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa thanked the President for appointing three ministers from the state, including the Minister of Interior. APC chieftain, Chief Olusola Oke, SAN, also said Ondo leaders were indebted to Tinubu for projects and political appointments.
Tunji-Ojo was among the dignitaries at the rally, alongside the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Taiwo Oyedele, and the Minister of Youths and Sports, Hon Ayodele Olawande.
Political observers at the stadium pointed to the strong presence of the minister’s supporters within the large crowd, describing it as evidence of his growing grassroots structure and mobilisation strength in the state.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who led the campaign train to Akure, set a target of 1.2 million votes for Tinubu from Ondo, noting that 1.8 million of the state’s 2.1 million registered voters had collected their Permanent Voter Cards. He cited Mimiko and Oke among prominent figures behind what he called a “universal elite consensus” for the President in the state.
Governor Aiyedatiwa pledged at least one million votes, while the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, conveyed the President’s directive that all party leaders recognise the governor as the sole state coordinator of the campaign and work together across the three senatorial districts.
Other speakers included the APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda; the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign, Abdulazeez Yari; and the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma.
