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Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed satisfaction with the massive turnaround of the fortunes of the state since his assumption of office on October 16, 2022.
Governor Oyebanji said Ekiti State has enjoyed rapid economic growth and a significant rise in all empirical indices which has seen the state become a reference point among the comity of states in Nigeria.
The Governor made the remarks while presenting the annual State of the State Address at the Ekiti State House of Assembly in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday during a special plenary to mark the third anniversary of his administration.
Oyebanji used the opportunity to express gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his massive support for Ekiti State which has enabled his administration to better the lots of the people of the state.
He also announced the naming of the new Ikere Ekiti Model College built by his administration after the late former Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, the late Funminiyi Afuye, who died on 19, October 2022.
During the special plenary presided over by the Speaker, Adeoye Aribasoye, the Assembly Minority Leader, Oladele Ogunsakin, formally announced his resignation from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) making the ruling party to occupy all the 26 seats in the House.
The State of the State Address offered the Governor another opportunity to render his account of stewardship to the lawmakers and the entire people of the state.
He spoke of the strides his administration has made in improving the standards of living of the people, the projects executed so far, better welfare for civil servants and pensioners, employment of more citizens, strengthening of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), among others.
He particularly noted that his administration is working assiduously to prevent a spillover of security threat from neighbouring states that are experiencing some security challenges with proactiveness of beefing up security of the state.
Governor Oyebanji said Ekiti State has made an impressive progress across the six pillars agenda of his administration, most especially in the state’s economy that has seen its contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rise significantly.
He said: “The economy of Ekiti State continues to hold an exciting promise in all ramifications. A quick summary of Ekiti’s GDP performance from the recently released NBS Report indicates that overall, the state GDP moved from 2.4 trillion in 2019, to 4.6 trillion in 2023, a growth of 90%.
“This has moved Ekiti from the 33rd largest State to the 28th since APC was given the mandate to govern the state. Similarly, our contributions to the national GDP grew from 1.3% to 1.6%.
“Apparently, our economy is largely driven by trade which contributed 1.7 trillion (37%) and agriculture which contributed 1.05 trillion (23%). Both sectors contribute 60% to the State’s economy.
“It is for this reason that we have intentionally given more attention to trade, investment and agriculture since they have proved to be areas of our comparative advantage.
“Another sector that is receiving the attention of our Government is the Knowledge Economy, which holds the key to the economy of the future.
“Already, we have secured an $80 million funding from the African Development Bank in support of our vision for the Ekiti Knowledge Zone. Construction works will commence at the zone once all ongoing procurement processes are concluded.”
The Governor further pointed out that his administration’s investment in agriculture has positively impacted the state’s economy in the areas of in-flow of investment, generation of employment opportunities, improvement of food security and sustenance of the agric value chain.
“Agriculture remains a vital sector in our shared prosperity agenda. Apart from being a major source of employment to millions of our people, it is also the second sector with the highest contribution to our GDP. More importantly, food security is human security, as it is said that a hungry man is an angry man.
“Our policies are geared at massive cluster farming, food prices reduction, harvest wastage elimination and bringing new energy, innovation and modern agricultural practices to farming. As a result, we have deliberately come up with incentives to bring the youths back to agriculture.
“To achieve large scale farming, our administration has been able to clear up to 5,000 hectares of land for youths, communities, individual farmers and cooperatives for intensive agricultural production.”
He disclosed that the State Agricultural Processing Zone is home to some big players in Agric-value chains that are already generating hundreds of employment adding that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in partnership with YSJ Limited, under a public private partnership arrangement, is setting up a Soya Oil Bottling, Rice and Shea Butter processing facility in Ikere-Ekiti.
Oyebanji reported that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has grown from between N650 million and N700 million monthly he met on ground in 2022 to over N2 billion monthly which was made possible by the impact of the institutional reorganization, digital transformation of tax administration, expansion of the tax net and improved business environment and the autonomy of the Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service (EKIRS).
The Governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to the social contract with Ekiti people noting that he and his team are in a hurry to ensure a speedy realization of the dream of rapid economic prosperity of Ekiti for all. He stressed readiness to do his best to fulfill this aspiration amidst socio-economic challenges.
Earlier in his remarks, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, said the State of the State Address is in consonance with the State of the State Law passed by the Sixth Assembly and also in line with Section 108 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
Aribasoye who noted that the state benefits immensely from a working relationship between the Executive and the Legislature also described the last three years as being monumental because of the developmental strides already witnessed so far.
The Speaker said Ekiti State which recently marked 29 years of its creation as a political entity has grown in leaps and bounds, acknowledging the role played by the Governor as one of the agitators for its creation in his youthful days.
While affirming that the state has witnessed visible transformation in infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, and human capital development, which have significantly improved the living standards of the people, Aribasoye explained that the Governor has sustained the tradition of addressing Ekiti people through its representative to render an account of stewardship.
Also at the event were the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs.) Monisade Afuye, Wife of the Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, Chief Judge, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Habitat Adubiaro, Head of Service, Dr. (Mrs.) Folakemi Olomojobi, Chief of Staff, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, members of the State Executive Council and Royal Fathers, community leaders, among others.