Oyebanji’s Address and Ekiti’s March Towards Shared Prosperity

Odunayo Ogunmola writes about the second State of the State Address delivered by Governor Biodun Oyebanji to the people of Ekiti State during which he reeled out numerous achievements of his government within the two years.

One of the key components of representative democracy is transparency, probity and accountability in governance. Leaders get to their positions on the crest of public trust which was at the basis of their election to hold offices in trust for the electorate.

One of the factors that erode public trust in governance in Nigeria and other African countries is refusal of elected and appointed leaders to give account of their stewardship to the people from time to time.

Since he was inaugurated as the fifth elected Chief Executive of Ekiti State on 16th October, 2022, Governor Biodun Oyebanji has never shied away from giving account of his stewardship to the people who popularly and overwhelmingly elected him into office.

From time to time, the Governor always make use of any available platform to update the people on issues of governance most especially how he has managed the resources of the state and how he has executed the programmes and policies of his administration.

At every public forum, Governor Oyebanji always trumpeted the need to give account to the people who “employed him as the state leader with their votes” hence the need to resist the lure of staying back in his office in Ado Ekiti but to leave his comfort zone and meet the people in their localities and also stand before their representatives to lay the cards of governance on the table.

These he has done through his appearances at ceremonies where he presided over swearing-in of key government officials, interview sessions with reporters, periodic media chat, and stakeholders engagements held to mark every 100 days in office, as well as budget presentations before the House of Assembly, among others.

But the highpoint of Governor Oyebanji’s public accountability gesture to the people of the state was the State of the State Address which he had done twice in the life of his administration. The first one was on 16th October, 2023 when his administration clocked one year in office while the second was on 16th October, 2024 at the oçcasion of the second anniversary in power.

This is coupled with the fact that the annual budget in Ekiti State results from town hall meetings with the representatives of all communities who are asked to bring their priority projects for incorporation into the budget. Such a forum offers the Governor an opportunity to give account on what his government has done for each of the communities.

The State of the State Address, during which a Governor gives a detailed and elaborate account to the people at the anniversary of coming to office on the floor of the House of Assembly, is the climax of the celebration of public accountability enacted into law during the immediate past administration led by former Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The first State of the State Address by Governor Oyebanji last year gave him an opportunity to report to the state legislators and by extension, the entire people of Ekiti, the commendable achievements recorded within the first year which had started bearing fruits in all the five pillars of his administration to the admiration of critical stakeholders in the state.

Apparently impressed by what the Governor achieved within the first anniversary which included ending over 10 years of blackout in many communities, commissioning of an Independent Power Project, attraction of investors, empowerment of artisans, micro, small and medium enterprises, infrastructure, workers and pensioners’ welfare, three former Governors: Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Chief Ayo Fayose and Dr Kayode Fayemi unanimously endorsed Governor Oyebanji for another term in office.

At the second State of the State Address at the Ekiti Parliament, Governor Oyebanji had another opportunity to give account to the people of the state with more milestones and landmarks in governance to report as his administration reaches the half way mark. The Governor did not fail to stress the importance of rendering account noting that Ekiti remains the only state in Nigeria to give legal backing to the State of the State Address.

He said: “This tradition of delivering a State of the State Address, which represents an essential pillar of democracy and a shining example of accountability, continues with today’s address. As your Governor, I come here with a great sense of reverence for this honourable House and the good people of Ekiti State, recognizing the great honour that has been bestowed upon me to occupy this office, signifying the trust of the people, not just in me, but in our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). I do not take this honour for granted.

“I will continue to thank His Excellency, Dr. Kayode Fayemi who enshrined this democratic practice of accountability in our governance culture in Ekiti. To date, our State remains the only state in Nigeria that has enshrined the State of the State Address as a legal requirement for stewardship. We must remain proud of this distinction.”

The achievements recorded under the six pillars of the administration formed to the thrust of the account of his stewardship.

The six pillars include Governance, Youth Development and Job Creation, Human Capital Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, Infrastructure and Industrialization and Arts, Culture and Tourism.

The Governor noted that the good governance firmly entrenched in Ekiti has seen the state receive positive ratings among the comity of States in Nigeria which came about as a result of prudent management of funds, to fiscal transparency and accountability. These include first position in the PSLI Subnational Audit Efficacy Index on which the State scored 92 out of 100.

Ekiti ranked 2nd in the BudgIT State Fiscal Transparency League for Q1 2024 and also topped the BudgiT’s State Fiscal Transparency League for Q2 2024 with a total score of 97%.

Before the state legislators on that memorable day, Governor Oyebanji had plenty of standout achievements to showcase in the areas of more employment for job seekers, good governance, iconic infrastructures which were either constructed or rehabilitated, economic empowerment for citizens, improving the security architecture, better welfare for workers and citizens, attraction of more investment, provision of enabling environment for businesses to thrive, among others.

Out of the plethora of achievements the Governor highlighted, there are some that are worthy of mention and these include the $80 million investment loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to trigger the construction of the Ekiti Knowledge Zone (EKZ) to replicate the Silicon Valley in the State.

Another is the provision of $100,000 each to ten cooperatives in partnership with USADF, set up of N1 billion cooperative fund for Ekiti Cooperative industry and partnership with Access Bank to facilitate N1 billion credit facilities to Ekiti women. Provision of more market facilities for traders like Shasha BAO and installation of more facilities at Agric Olope Market.

The State of the State Address also revealed that Governor Oyebanji scored high marks in the welfare of workers and pensioners with the clearing of backlog of arrears of salaries and bonuses owed workers and monthly pensions and gratuities owed retirees.

He explained that his administration has paid N8,562,042,632.79 to state pensioners and N7,442,076,921.25 to Local Government pensioners from October 16, 2023 till date

while the sum of N4,900,000,000.00 as gratuity to state and N2,803,562,592.72 to Local Government retirees from October 16, 2023 till date.

Ongoing renovation of nine general hospitals across the state, complete renovation of theatre suites, accident and emergency ward, dialysis centre and selective wards at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, upgrade of State Specialist Hospital, Ikole Ekiti to a Federal Medical Centre were some of the major highlights of the turnaround in the health sector as captured in the State of the State Address.

Under the State Health Insurance Scheme (Ulerawa), an explicit but guaranteed package of care was provided to the populace which includes free delivery across the 177 primary health centres. The Governor stated that the scheme has extended coverage of services under Ulerawa to all 3.6million residents of Ekiti including pensioners. As at today, over 9,000 pensioners have enrolled  in the program.           

The Governor also dwelt on the giant strides of his administration in agriculture with the coming on stream of Special Agriculture Processing Zone and engagement of 913 participants in Youth in Commercial Agriculture programme, infrastructure, especially road construction and rehabilitation, Ekiti has taken a bold march forward in multi-sectoral development.

All these commendable feats within two years which were unfolded in the State of the State Address elicited an endorsement of the Governor for another term in office by the House of Assembly members led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye.

Through the State of the State Address, the people of Ekiti were able to listen to the scorecard of the helmsman and are now aware that the state had witnessed impactful growth under a Governor that is committed to walking his talk in making shared prosperity a reality.

-Ogunmola, Media Assistant to Ekiti Governor, writes from Ado Ekiti.