Daud Olatunji
The Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Jarret Tenebe, has invoked “AK-47 fire” against individuals he accused of attempting to frustrate the party’s plan to deliver 2.5 million votes to President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Tenebe made the controversial remark during one of the rallies held as Governor Monday Okpebholo and other APC leaders toured the 18 local government areas of the state to mobilise support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.
The statement was contained in a viral video reviewed by news outlets, in which the APC chairman spoke about the party’s target of securing 2.5 million presidential votes from Edo.
According to Tenebe, the governor had promised President Tinubu that Edo would deliver the figure, but critics and opposition politicians subsequently questioned how the state would achieve such a target.
He said those who attempted to frustrate the plan would face what he described as “AK-47 fire.”
Tenebe said, “So anybody who refuses, who wants to stand in our way of not getting the 2.5 million votes we want to give to Mr President, AK-47 fire. Thank you and God bless.”
He also contrasted the expression with what he described as “Holy Ghost fire” and a “General Purpose Machine Gun” prayer, while presenting the remarks as a form of prayer against those who might obstruct the APC’s electoral mobilisation.
The APC chairman further linked the number of votes delivered by states to the Federal Government with development opportunities, including the possibility of creating additional local government areas and states.
He said the administration would work towards delivering the votes because, according to him, President Tinubu had the constitutional and political influence required for the creation of additional local government areas.
“The only person that can create a local government for us is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. If it is that alone, we will not sleep. We will work hard and make sure those votes are turned out,” he said.
Tenebe also sought to justify the 2.5 million target by referring to the last local government elections in Edo.
He claimed Governor Okpebholo had previously proved his critics wrong by mobilising 2,156,800 votes for the APC during the exercise.
The claim, however, was made in the context of the party’s political mobilisation and was not independently established in the material reviewed for this report.
The comments have since generated criticism, with opponents and commentators describing the “AK-47 fire” remarks as threatening and potentially capable of heightening political tension ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Edo State chapter of the African Democratic Congress also condemned the remarks.
The party’s spokesperson, Chris Ojeikere, accused Tenebe of making comments capable of encouraging electoral violence and said the ADC would forward the video to relevant authorities for appropriate action.
Ojeikere further alleged that previous remarks by the APC chairman had been followed by an attack on the ADC secretariat in the state, and called for accountability should violence result from the latest comments.
The development has added to growing political rhetoric surrounding the 2027 elections, as parties intensify grassroots mobilisation and seek to consolidate support ahead of the presidential poll.
For the APC in Edo, the immediate political objective remains the mobilisation of voters behind Tinubu and the actualisation of the 2.5 million-vote target publicly announced by Governor Okpebholo and party leaders.
