By Chukwudi Nweje
In this interview with some journalists, the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji who clocked one year in office on October 16, 2023 spoke on a wide range of issues relating to governance, especially efforts at laying solid foundation for the fulfilment of his six-pillar agenda for the state in the first 12 months of the administration.
Looking at the limited resources at the disposal of the state , how have you been able to manage to attend to so many things in virtually all the sectors of the economy in one year contrary to the general impression in the society; what is the secret?
We know that the state resources may not be enough. It is even better for you to do all these things taking loan than to wait because of the rate of inflation. Well, there has been an improvement in what comes to the state in fairness.There has been a little improvement in what comes to us but we have not done anything too serious.
I see Ekiti State as a company and before I take any decision, I will ask myself that if this were to be my company, what will be the best decision for me to take? And you will realize that we have run an austerity government for the past one year and gradually my aides are coming to terms with my style of leadership. My style of leadership is servant-leadership, the people first. Lets take care of them, we are here because of them. So, because of change in attitude to governance, we have reduced a lot of expenditure on recurrent.
You know, we have stopped unnecessary workshop, frivolous seminars, travelings that will not add value to the state. I met with the rank and file of the civil service before I came on board and I begged them that when you receive all these circulars to workshops, ask yourselves that what value will these add to Ekiti State? They found out themselves and called themselves to order. As the governor of this state, I have been here for a year, I have only travelled out once and it was free; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) sent me to Kigali (Rwanda).
Every month, I receive six to seven invitations to travel out but I ask myself, what value will this bring to Ekiti? If it’s not something that will add value, I drop it because I know that this seat has an expiry date. When I leave, will I be able to go home and sleep well? I also know, some of you may not agree with me that I will stand before God to give account one day; I believe in that. So, because we have been able to change the focus of governance, we will do more with little and we will continue to do more with little.
We have not owed deductions, we have not owed salaries, yes, we take overdraft to pay salary at times. We put N2.5 billion aside per month, to pay salaries because I don’t want to owe workers’ wages. We are dealing with gratuities arrears, we have paid CONHESS to local government staff, we have provided resources for local government to function, we have done that. I have spent a year in office, I have not bought any official car, I am still using the one left by my predecessor(Dr Kayode Fayemi).
The first set of political appointees that I have worked with for a year without official vehicles,but now that I have brought in additional members, my bosses(sic), the politicians, I need to make provision for vehicles for them. But as the governor, I have not bought a new vehicle and I don’t intend to buy as long as the ones I have are functional. I am good to go and it doesn’t make me a lesser governor. I see service delivery as a definition of that seat. I was elected to serve the people, so it is not about my convenience or comfort. I still believe that leaders should make sacrifices and because I am conservative, most of my colleagues now, they will check themselves before they bring any frivolous file on my table because they know that you have to put the people forward.
The question I ask myself is, the woman selling roasted plantain (booli) outside, the Okada Riders, those in Erekesan Market, they are also partakers in the allocation that comes to Ekiti because at the end of the day, it is Ekiti State and the money belongs to everybody. So, government must put in place a policy that will also affect those people and I am responsible to them because those people put me to this job through their votes. I keep telling everybody that when they went out to vote for us, every vote carry the same value. The vote of the governor, and the vote of the man riding Okada, same value. So, access to government opportunities should also be equal; those are the principles that drive me.
To achieve your plans and programmes for the state, you will agree with me that security of lives and property are key but Ekiti has witnessed series of security breaches, especially kidnappings and other heinous crimes in the last few months. How do you intend to tackle this challenge going forward particularly making Amotekun corps more vibrant and effective like we have it in other South Western states?
Well, I share your concern with Amotekun. I too have the same concern but we need to do more with Amotekun. When I came on board, I tried to look at it because Amotekun was under me when I was the Secretary to State Government under Dr Fayemi. Since I became the governor, I commissioned a team to look at Amotekun and I discovered that we need to change tactics with them.
We need to employ more people, we need to train them, we need to provide resources for them, but you know, we also need to provide clear direction for them. And when I was convinced that a new leadership is needed, I brought in the current Commander (Brig. Gen. Olu Adewa) who just left the North-east, he just retired from the Army, he has been leading Boko haram fights in the northern states and I brought him on board. Since he came on board, he has changed the face of Amotekun in the state and currently, he is going round the state to even ascertain the status of the corps.
He has not completed that, once that one is done, we are going to sit down with the local government but definitely we need to recruit more people; we need to provide working tools for them but I agree with you that in the comparison with their counterpart in the southwest, there can be improvement and we will see to that but this government believes in the Amotekun philosophy and we also believe that if properly managed with the current leadership, our Amotekun will bite more.
So, we are working in that line but I must commend the new Commandant, he has brought a lot of discipline and a lot of direction into the corps and part of what we are doing is just to change the leadership now and I am just waiting for him to come with his reports because Amotekun is a joint concern for both the state and the local government.
We have done something when I came on board, we have increased their salary like the other states, we have done that but in terms of providing tools for them, making them effective, we need to look into that but we are going to do it this time around in conjunction with the traditional institutions at the local level. So, there are a lot of structural issues with it but we will resolve that soon.
Many stakeholders and analysts have argued that for democracy and good governance to thrive, there is a need for a vibrant opposition but it appears Ekiti is sliding into one-party state with no visible opposition voice considering your stellar performance and people have accused you of buying opposition leaders to your side.
I believe that the best assessment of any government is by the people and if it is coming from the journalists, that tells me that it is a position that one has to take seriously. As a government, we have a contract with the people of Ekiti State and we promised ourselves that we will work for them and work with them. We made certain promises to them and for the past few months, we have ensured that those promises are kept.
Even if those promises come at a cost, it requires self-discipline, a lot of concentration, a lot of consultation and a lot of what I will call a stable and compassionate policy from the government. It also requires a lot of tactics and strategies and we have tried as much as possible to ensure that we are truthful to Ekiti people.
We believe that trust is very key to governance. So, the first mark I set for myself is that I need to earn the trust of Ekiti people because if you are going to take them on a journey of four years, they must trust me to the point that they will follow me to that expected end and we have tried to do that. So, if this is the feedback, well, I give God all the glory but I also know that it is too early in the day for us to rest on our oars. So, the reward for hard work is more work.
With respect to buying the opposition, it is not correct. What we have done is to ensure that we are running an inclusive government and we are communicating with everybody including the opposition.
Election stopped the day I was sworn in as governor of Ekiti State. I don’t see myself as governor of APC, I am the Governor of everybody in Ekiti State and I relate with all of them as Ekiti indigenes. So, politics has stopped, we are in the realm of governance and governance tells me that I have to be responsible to both my party members and people who didn’t even vote for me. There are a lot of Ekiti people who don’t even belong to any political party, I am also responsible to them.
So, before I assumed office, I visited every one of our leaders in the state across political divides because I believe strongly that I need all of them. I need to learn from them. I also need to take feedback from them and we had useful discussions with leaders of my party, those that are non-political and those that belong to the opposition.
Every time I go to them, I take note of whatever they tell me and when I have issues, because I have established that relationship, I can call them and ask for advice and all of them have been advising me. So, that may be responsible for the feedback you are getting in town. I have not bought anybody, all the support have been unconditional and none of them has asked me for any favour and that is the truth.
It is one year already and many people have been expecting what has now become the usual norm of successor-predecessor cold war and hostilities in our political system but in your own situation, that is not the case. What is the secret?
There is no secret. Remember, I worked with Governor Fayemi for seven years. In his first term in office, I was the Commissioner for Integration, I later headed Office of Transformations and Service Delivery(OTSD) and later served as Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning; so, I worked with him for four years. When he came back, in 2018, I was the SSG for three years. So, seven years working with him and God has used him to support me to be here, I see myself as the clone of both himself, Governor Niyi Adebayo and Governor Ayo Fayose. And since Oga (Fayemi) left, I am the one that is always disturbing him because there are some doors I will ask him to go and open for me and he does that without any problem. I consult with him regularly, he has not foisted anything on me, he doesn’t disturb me for anything. I am the one disturbing his peace. I will call him to ask when he will be coming to Ekiti, he will tell me I should allow him to rest. There was a time he had to go to London to do something for me. He got there and he called me and I spoke with the person.
Today, I have called him to do some things for me and he said he will do it. There is no basis for friction. I am actually blessed by predecessors that don’t disturb me, even those ones that belong to the opposition, I have found favour in their eyes; they give me advice unconditionally; so, I stand on the shoulders of giants and I know that it is only the grace of God who has made this to happen.
My relationship with all of them has been extremely cordial and I intend to maintain that. Governor Fayemi remains the leader, remains my boss, my mentor and because I worked with him for seven years, taking decisions, to a large extent, I can have a guess of what he would do on any matter.
One day, we were having a discussion, I was telling him I want to do this, I want to do that, I was mentioning names and he told me that look, if he was the one taking the decision, he would pick those people too. This is because I sat at all the meetings as SSG with him. I was a member of the strategy team, I was a member of his think tank, so, he has taken me through all these things. So, on any decision, I have an idea of what Oga will do. But where I have a problem, I can pick my phone and call him that what should I do with respect to this. So, I am full of gratitude to him for his support and I can count on his stronger support going forward.
What should the people of Ekiti be expecting from your administration in the next three years?
We campaigned on the mantra of continuity and shared prosperity. Continuity of the programmes and policies of my predecessor in office which we have articulately adhered to in respect to the completion of some of the projects that he couldn’t complete while he was here and also you will recall that before he left office, we launched the Ekiti State 30-year development plan from 2020 to 2050 and our manifestoes are offshoot of the development plan.
The last budget was termed, ‘Budget of Strong Beginning’ and we named it so, so that we can put in place a very strong foundation for the prosperity of our people and now that the foundation has been laid, we have presented before the House of Assembly the budget of 2024 which is christened ‘Budget of Sustainable Growth and Development’ and the budget is to put the building blocks gradually for the foundation that has been laid to dispense prosperity for our people.
So, what Ekiti people should expect in the next three years is a faithful implementation of our six pillars in accordance with the Ekiti State development plan and in accordance with the 2024 budget. So, Ekiti people should expect new capital projects, improvement in the living conditions of the people, those in formal sector should expect government support for the informal sector and same for private sector and they should look forward to the establishment of industries in the state.
Also, we are going to put a lot of emphasis on clean environment to ensure that we clean our environment, we put emphasis on the art, culture and tourism and also, we attack unemployment and insecurity in the state.