By Ayodele Oni
The Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jarrett Tenebe, has reiterated commitment to mobilise 2.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, saying if his hand or head will be an impediment, he will severe it.
Tenabe spoke on TVC News, where he also reacted to reports concerning the position of APC state chairmen on the proposed coalition involving opposition parties and the ruling APC.
Speaking specifically about Edo State, the APC chairman stressed that the party was determined to deliver 2.5 million votes for Tinubu and would consider political arrangements that could help achieve the target.
“In my state we have promised that we will give 2.5 million votes to Mr. President.”
Tenebe added that the party was prepared to pursue any arrangement within the state that would help it meet the target.
“Anything humanly possible, we are ready to do it to ensure that we get these votes for Mr. President.”
Emphasising his determination, Tenebe used a metaphorical expression to describe how far he was prepared to go to achieve the target.
“Even if my hand is going to be an impediment for us not getting the 2.5 million votes we promised Mr. President, I will cut off the hand; even if it’s my head, I will cut it off to ensure that we get it.”
According to him, the state chairmen have not convened any meeting to collectively endorse or reject the proposed coalition, contrary to reports suggesting that they had taken a unified position on the matter.
“There was no time the state chairman met at once to condemn the coalition or endorse it,” Tenebe said.
According to him, state APC chairmen do not independently determine the party’s position on major political decisions, noting that governors are the leaders of the party in their respective states.
“The governors are the leaders of the parties in the various states. And when the governors are on anything, the state chairman does not have the right to also comment on that thing.”
Tenebe also dismissed suggestions that the recent APC retreat in Maiduguri was a gathering of state chairmen to reject the coalition.
“It was a National Working Committee programme, not a state programme. We were only invited as state chairmen and members of the NEC to that retreat and that was what we did.”
He added that the APC chairmen would instead wait for decisions from the appropriate party authorities before acting on any issue concerning the coalition.
“We’re always to watch to see the outcome and whatever outcome, then we’ll carry.”
Tenebe also emphasized that the issue for the APC was not simply whether Tinubu would win the 2027 election but the number of votes the president would secure across the states.
“It is no longer whether the president will win. The president will win definitely, but the numbers he’s going to use in winning is what matters.”
The Edo APC chairman cited the party’s performance in the recent local government election as evidence of its ability to pursue the 2.5 million-vote target.
Recent reports have put the party’s claimed figure from the poll at 2,158,600 votes.
Tenebe reiterated that he could only speak for Edo State and could not determine the position of APC chairmen in other states.
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