Oyebanji Moves to Raise Bar of Governance in Ekiti

Gbenga Sodeinde writes that residents of Ekiti State including members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party have given kudos to Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his giant strides as he marks one year in office.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti state has just clocked one year in office, but his performance has been stunning and astounding.

Ekiti people, including opposition party members, have described his one year achievements as suppassing what some Governors would showcase as scorecard in four years.

Putting it in succinct terms, this stunning performance has attracted accolades and appaluse across political and religious divides in the state. Those who matter in the scheme of things believed the Governor has revved the pedal of development and making Ekiti gradually to become a microcosm of development in all spheres. 

To some people, his performance is surprising, amazing and unimaginable.

Others who have known Oyebanji for a very long time or those who knew his antecedents would not be surprised at this feat.

The reasons for this are not far-fetched. Firstly, for any one who is close to Oyebanji, or have known him for sometime would know that he is a brilliant and quiet goal getter.

Secondly, Oyebanji has a zeal for the development of Ekiti state from the onset considering his efforts and activities in the build up to the creation of Ekiti State, when he served as secretary to the committee for the creation of the state then.

Thirdly and most importantly, Governor Oyebanji, having served under two Governors in the state in various positions since 1999, has the cognate experience and astuteness to navigate the murky water of politics and deliver as an administrator.

Looking at his political and administrative trajectories, one could easily decipher that Oyebanji is a careful planner, who always has his eyes fixed to his dreams and patiently ascended the ladder towards them.

This feature conveys resilience, but also screams the importance of maintaining proximity to power.

For instance, he was first appointed a Special Assistant on parliamentary affairs to Niyi Adebayo, the state’s first elected governor, in 1999 and later became the chief of staff in the latter stage of the administration in 2003.

Then the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Ayodele Fayose came into power, and Oyebanji was on a six-year hiatus from public service. He returned in 2009 but as the chairman of the governing board, citizenship and leadership training centre, federal ministry of youth and sports development – a position he held from June 2009 to December 2010.

After a court ruling that sacked Segun Oni of PDP in 2010 and threw up Kayode Fayemi as the duly elected governor in 2010, Oyebanji was first appointed the commissioner for integration and inter-governmental affairs before he was asked to head Ekiti’s Office of Transformation Strategy and Delivery (OTSD) a year later.

Thereafter, he was named the commissioner for budget, and economic planning in 2013 and held the position till October 2014.

In 2018, after Fayemi was elected for a second term, Oyebanji got back into public service and was appointed secretary to the state government (SSG), a position he held until he resigned to join the governorship race late 2021.

Oyebanji’s administration in  one year has been able to initiate and undertake a number of projects with a lot of achievements recorded in his name, which include the following: Procurement of furniture items and office equipment for the newly established Customary Court of Appeal,  renovation and remodelling of old Governor’s office building, Ado Ekiti, provision of five luxurious buses for mass transit scheme, and the granting of full autonomy to Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service (EKIRS).

Others are, payment of N29,278,008,353 as salary to state & local government workers, Oct 2022-July 2023 Disbursement of N267.07M as housing loan to 1,901 beneficiaries across the MDAs, Appointment of 14 permanent secretaries, appointment of 42 produce inspectors into the Ministry of Agric, appointment of 50 Forest guards/superintendents, normalisation of temporary appointment of 64 junior officers to different cadres in the civil service, repair of grounded vehicles in the local government service, purchase of 38 official vehicles for the HLAS in the local government service, and renovation/remodelling of former Civil Service commission building to accommodate Customary Court of appeal, Ado Ekiti.

Governor Oyebanji also approved appointment of 102 junior officers across MDAs, recruitment of people with disability (PWDs) and sign language interpreters into the state civil service, Payment of N435,000,000.00 as gratuity to state & LG beneficiaries. (Oct 2022-July 2023, Commencement of free mass transit scheme for public servants and public secondary school students, procurement of 30 units of Toyota Yaris car for 28 permanent secretaries and two auditors-general in the Ekiti State Civil Service, renovation of the Deputy Governor’s Office.

Within one year, Oyebanji also undertook recruitment of 1,300 primary school teachers and approval for 500 teachers for secondary schools, procurement of new buses and refurbishment of damaged buses for the three special schools in the state, donation of student mattresses and iron beds, renovation of structures, relief palliatives, cash donations to the three special schools in the state, purchase of UTME forms and payment for WAEC registration fee for the students with disabilities across the three special schools in the state.

The Governor also approved payment of N200,000,000.00 to 3,500 beneficiaries under the Ekiti State Cash Transfer Unit (SCTU), enrolment of 1,326 beneficiaries into the Labour Intensive Public Works (LIPW) with N12,500 monthly stipend, distribution of N24,000,000.00 relief materials to the victims of the rainstorm disaster in Oke-Ako and Ijesa-Isu Ekiti, and distribution of N50,000,000.00 relief materials to beneficiaries through the Federal Government Special National Economic Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI) programme.

Rating Oyebanji’s performance, the immediate past governor of Ekiti state, Dr Kayode Fayemi, hailed his successor for what he described as sterling performance since he assumed office.

Fayemi who made the commendation recently when he visited the state for a project inauguration expressed happiness that the people of the state had already given him a pass mark barely a year into his tenure, saying he didn’t have to wait till mid-term to do an assessment of Oyebanji’s performance.

He said: “The evidence of your excellent performance is all over the place for everybody to see. I don’t have to wait till mid-term to do an assessment of your performance. The people have already given you a pass mark and I am happy you didn’t disappoint the people.

“The successful completion of this ultra-modern bus terminal that is being commissioned today is one of such. I have also seen several other projects and programmes you are undertaking to the benefit of the people. This is the beauty of continuity we talked about, and I am so happy to be around to witness this.

Speaking further, Fayemi who said the decision to choose Oyebanji as his successor was not taken out of sentiment, added that he had every reason to support the Oyebanji administration to achieve its set goals because the “(Oyebanji) governorship project was consciously determined, carefully researched and prayerfully endorsed.”