Adebayo Adenrele
The number one citizen of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji said his government has expended over 17 billion naira on pension, gratuity, car, and housing loans to Ekiti Public Servants since he took over as the governor of the state.
Oyebanji revealed this during an engagement with Ekiti Stakeholders in Abuja.
Oyebanji, in a statement signed by his special adviser on media, Yinka Oyebode said his administration in the last one and half years has led the state with a deep sense of responsibility, guided by the fear of God and principle of transparency and accountability.
The governor added that he has been able to change the narratives in the state by being strong on welfare issues and creating economic opportunities for the citizens.
These, he said has impacted positively on the standard of living of the residents as well as improve on economic development programmes of his predecessors.
The Stakeholders meeting which held at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja had in attendance Ekiti indigenes who are in senior cadres in the Federal Civil service, top officials of Federal Parastatals and agencies, as well as para military organisations.
Also in attendance were members of the Ekiti Caucus of the National Assembly; and some members of Ekiti State Executive Council.
At the gathering were the first Executive Governor of the State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Dele Alake; Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye; Senators Yemi Adaramodu and Cyril Fasuyi; Secretary to the State Government, Dr Habibat Adubiaro; Permanent Secretary, State House, Engr Funsho Adebiyi, members of State Executive Council, and about 250 senior public servants of Ekiti extraction in Abuja, among others.
Addressing the gathering, Oyebanji asserted that his administration remained focused on transforming the state’s economy into a productive and self-sufficient powerhouse by leveraging on the state’s resources and potentials to achieve sustainable development and economic dependency.
He said the stakeholders’ engagement meeting is part of his administration’s policy of inclusion and partnership with critical stakeholders to ensure sustainable development in the state, stressing that through forging an alignment of visions and unanimity of purpose with the stakeholders, the state could achieve the shared prosperity agenda of his administration.
His words, “We believe strongly that if we have alignment of visions, alignment of minds and unanimity of purpose, the Ekiti that our forefathers fought for, we can achieve it.
“We are conscious of the burden of history on us, we campaigned for this office, we made promises to the people, we begged them to vote for us, we are not here to complain and we are not complaining. We have accepted this responsibility and we don’t lack the capacity, we don’t lack the ability, we don’t lack the vision, we don’t lack the drive but we can do better than what we are doing with your help, so I’ve come to you today not as a Governor that knows it all, I’ve come to you as someone asking for help.
“I believe strongly that with you behind us, people will start to have a rethink about who Ekitis are. We are extremely dedicated people, we are hardworking, we are loyal, we are transparent, we are courageous but we don’t have access to opportunities and we lack platforms. But that platform that we lack is what God has provided through you. It is those platforms I’m asking, give us this platform, collaborate with us, assist us so that we can use your network and your platform to develop our people.
“We believe strongly that with our six point agenda in the state today, we are intervening in infrastructure, we are revamping our health care services, we are doing education, free education, we give grants to schools, in the medical sectors we are confronting the problem of infrastructure, the problem of drugs, and we are also combatting the problem with staff.
“We are the second state in the country that has paid hazard allowance. We paid over 14 billion in pension, we are paying gratuities, we have committed 200 million every month to gratuities, we pay salaries as at when due. As of today we are not owing workers salary since we were sworn into office. We have paid arrears of pensions, given promotion arrears, we have paid contributions to our workers and you can call your people at home, we are very faithful when it comes to the issues of pensioners. We pay pensions with salaries and we have not defaulted at all”. The Governor asserted.
Prior to the Governor’s address the Senior Adviser on Economic Matters and Chairman of the Economic Management team, Senator Olu Adetumbi and the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akin Oyebode, had in separate presentation laid out the State’s economic prospects and challenges, stressing that with more support the citizens, the government would do greater exploits in the area of sustainable development.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Dele Alake, and Senator Dayo Adeyeye, commended the Governor for providing quality leadership and for bringing prominent figures from the state together to discuss Ekiti progress and development.
While urging the Governor to ensure that the meeting is regular, they charged the federal public servant to explore every opportunity at their disposal to facilitate more development to the state.