ABIODUN NEJO examines the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji’s one year in office as elders and other residents list expectations
On October 16, 2022, when the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, was sworn in for a term of four years, the consensus in the state was that he should hit the ground running.
Setting the agenda, residents wanted the governor to prioritise infrastructure, roads, agriculture with the value chain, youth unemployment, wealth creation, education, security, and the economy generally.
Oyebanji, who in his inaugural address said he understood his mission, said his priorities included growing the economy, creating jobs, investing in human capital development and strategic infrastructure projects in transport, agriculture, and power.
The Commissioner for Finance, Akin Oyebode, said the Oyebanji administration had delivered on the promise in the first year, reiterating its preparedness to put governance on full throttle, saying, “The implementation of the six-point agenda of the administration continues on a daily basis.”
Oyebode said that Oyebanji chose to complete inherited projects alongside newly initiated ones in order to expand the scope of development and plug wastage in the deployment of resources “to promote continuity of vision, continuity of planning, and continuity of development.
“We have a lot of projects that we have started, and we will complete them soon. Go to the Omisanjana-Deeper Life-Ajebandele area, go along the Agric Olope axis, and see the roads we have started there. The power projects in the Gbonyin and Ekiti East local government areas were started and completed by this administration,” he added.
However, Social Democratic Party State Chairman, Dr Bamidele Ekunola, who said one year was not enough to assess the governor’s performance, said, “I can see what he has done. He really tried.
“I was not expecting much from him because I have not seen any APC governor be as serious as he is. He really surprised me because he has done creditably well. Let us continue to see what he will do.
“For now, he has satisfied us: regular payment to workers and pensioners; he is trying on the roads. Ikogosi has not had light for 10 years; he has done it. It is the same thing in Ayekire, Gbonyin, and Ekiti East. The House minority leader, a member of my party from Omuo, confirmed they now have electricity after over 10 years.
“Oyebanji listens to the problems of the masses. For these, I will say he did well. The same thing applies to schools, health, other infrastructure, and security as well. He is trying. I like his sense of humility and respect for elders.
“But I must say, I am unimpressed that he does not make this government inclusive. He made it in totality without even considering other political parties to serve. It ought to be spread across political parties. It should not be winner takes all.”
The Ekiti Council of Elders, however, scored the governor “very high”, saying, “The consensus is that he has tried his best within the available resources in 365 days.”
The Secretary of the Council, Elder Niyi Ajibulu, said, “Oyebanji came in at a very difficult time when trucks and rainfall created a lot of havoc and virtually made the roads impassable, coupled with the removal of subsidy on petrol and the attendant hardship.
“But within his own sphere, as a state governor, he has performed creditably well; at least he has been able to ensure that a lot of the roads, particularly the township roads, are maintained and repaired.
“Not only that, his overtures to the opposition and people generally have endeared him to the Ekiti people the more, and he has had very little opposition. Generally, the elders of Ekiti have scored him as having performed very well in the first year.
“But we still like to advise him to ensure there are jobs and to look at what is available in an agrarian society. We think he should concentrate more on agriculture and provide jobs for the youth. He should ensure that Ekiti can produce enough, not only to feed itself but to feed the rest of the country and other parts of the nation.”
Oyebanji addressed these and many others in his State of the State address delivered before the House of Assembly on Monday, October 16, 2023, to mark his one year in office, which came barely 72 hours after the governor presented the 2024 budget proposal to the legislative body.
He said that he had, in the last year, demonstrated commitment to the principles of participatory democracy, inclusive governance, and accountable leadership, ensuring that he would not deviate.
The governor assured that his administration would “remain committed to our social contract with the Ekiti people. We are in a hurry to ensure an earlier realisation of our dream of rapid economic prosperity in Ekiti for all.
“Even though we acknowledge the socioeconomic difficulties that we collectively face as a people at this time, we will do our best to continue to fulfil our aspiration,” he said, urging the labour movement to exercise more patience.
He also noted that the Ekiti Free Trade Zone, ready to play its pioneering role as the leading knowledge-based economic zone “is anticipated to provide over 12,000 jobs for young people in Ekiti, fostering economic growth and prosperity.”
Oyebanji, who said he had made it a duty to meet with Ekiti people every 100 days to give accounts of government activities and solicit their opinion on the best way they would want to be served, stated, “The periodic feedback has given us the opportunity to let them know where we are and where we are going.”
He assured of a better future, having successfully laid a solid foundation for the socio-economic prosperity of Ekiti, saying he had carried out radical restructuring in the system to fortify the economy.
Oyebanji explained that to boost agriculture and attract youths into farming, thereby curtailing incidences of joblessness and crime, the government was in the process of connecting the agricultural zone along the Ipao-Oke Ako axis to the national grid to propel the state to food security status.
“In the area of infrastructure and industrialisation, my government has been aggressive in improving electricity supply and the construction of access roads because these are the two most important factors in industrial development,” he said.
The governor, who inaugurated the reconnection of Erinjiyan, Ikogosi, and Ikogosi Warm springs in Ekiti West local government, as well as towns in Gbonyin, Ayekire, and Ekiti East councils to the national grid, reiterated the importance of power supply to socio-economic development.
He declared, “We have energised towns like Egbe by connecting light from Ikare in Ondo State, while we have connected light from Eruku in Kwara State to Ikun Ekiti. We are also mobilising contractors back to the site to complete ongoing road projects like Ado-Iworoko Road, Ilawe-Igbara-Odo Road, Ilawe-Igede Road, Ikole-Ara- Isinbode Road, and Ado township roads, among others.”
Oyebanji, who said that he expended N1.5bn on equipping and rehabilitating Ekiti’s 177 primary healthcare centres, added that 2,000 teachers were recruited and deployed to primary and secondary schools in the last year to undertake subjects that could bolster Ekiti’s ranking in public examinations.
The Speaker, Adeoye Aribasoye, who assured of the Assembly’s continued support and collaboration, said, “Under Oyebanji, we have witnessed transformative governance, dedication to duties, simplicity, and respect for elders. I commend you for a job well done.”
The Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, and the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti, Oba Ayorinde Ilori-Faboro, said Oyebanji’s one year in office had been “a source of inspiration and relief to the traditional institution and Ekiti generally.”
Oba Ilori-Faboro, who said the governor had started well, said, “Being one of the people who fought for the creation of Ekiti, he was the secretary of that committee; he knows how it was and the Kabiyesis’ efforts. We have been very happy since he came.
“You cannot imagine where we will be in another three years’ time when he has completed his term, and we are hoping that he will continue to govern us for yet another term. If he can rule us for eight years, I am sure that at the end of it, Ekiti will be in a very good position; he will have placed us on a pedestal of good progress.
“He has not put any foot wrong since he became governor. He understands the situation. We pray for him; we pray for his wife, Princess Olayemi Oyebanji; and we pray for his deputy, Princess Monisade Afuye. They are specially sent by God to make us happy.”
A professor of political science at Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Sunday Akindele, said the governor had “performed excellently well within the first year of his tenure as the governor of Ekiti State.”
Akindele, a traditional high chief and the Elemo of Ado Ekiti, said, “To be candid, Oyebanji is better described as a person who ought to have come before now. This line of thinking is exemplified by his trailblazing performance in terms of governance and public administration in Ekiti State.
“None of the things he has done has failed to meet the yearnings in terms of responsiveness of public policy. He has the focus, and I am sure that if he is not distracted, he has not started at all. It is just the tip of the iceberg.
“All one can say is to pray for him and his administration and improvement in the economy of Nigeria because people will keep on asking for more, no matter the paucity of public funds.”
The don advised that if the governor maintains the velocity, “his current rise to political stardom and prominence would create a conducive environment for the stability of Ekiti politics and people’s satisfactions in terms of political agenda and rendering more responsive public service delivery.
“He has learned the rudiments of the governance process. Do you want to talk in terms of infrastructural development and provision of the requisite needs of the people? He has done well,” Akindele added.
