Allies of Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, a former Niger Delta militant leader, pledged 10 million votes to secure President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 during a rally in Warri, Delta State.
The event, held at a waterfront stadium packed with supporters waving APC flags, marked the start of Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the oil-rich South-South. Tompolo’s camp, influential in Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta, vowed to mobilize voters across creeks and coastal villages, leveraging their control of waterways lined with mangroves and oil rigs.
The pledge followed Tinubu’s 2023 appointment of Tompolo’s firm, Tantita Security, to guard NNPCL pipelines, a contract worth billions under CEO Bayo Ojulari, boosting his clout in Warri’s markets and Oporoza’s fishing hamlets. Supporters, clad in green-and-white APC scarves, chanted Tinubu’s praises, citing his Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, stretching 700 km through Delta’s swamps.
The rally featured drummers from Ijaw clans, urging youth to register at INEC’s Warri offices, where voter cards piled up in humid rooms. Tinubu, absent from the event, sent FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who promised more infrastructure, including Warri Port dredging. The campaign, gaining steam amid Nigeria’s 34% inflation, faces challenges from PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, whose posters adorn Port Harcourt’s flyovers, as the Niger Delta’s votes become pivotal.