Oyebanji: I Will Work With Competent, Transparent People in My Cabinet

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

Barely five days to his inauguration, the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Biodun Oyebanji has given a hint on the outlook of his cabinet, saying he has a mission of working with, “competent, committed, courageous, transparent, and God- fearing people,” to make him successful as Ekiti’s Chief Executive.

The incoming governor, revealed that securing the citizens, building enduring infrastructures and solving the perennial epileptic power supply in the state would form the focal areas of concentration.

Oyebanji, who said though the challenges of leading the state looked overwhelming, he described paucity of funds as the least of his worries, on account of the strong partnerships the state had built with local and international development partners.

Oyebanji said this in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, during an interactive session with journalists heralding his swearing-in, slated for Sunday, October 16.

On his vision and mission to bring Ekiti out of the economic doldrums, Oyebanji said: “I want to work with competent, committed, courageous, transparent and God-fearing people. My government will be all- inclusive. We are bringing those that will add values to our dear state and our party, APC.

“Whoever I will bring on board, we are going to monitor their activities and ensure that they relate with the locals, people at the grassroots. That is why I want to live in my village at Ikogosi to encourage other appointees to live in their localities”, he said.

The incoming governor said focusing on the above three thematic areas would help to increase investment drives that would create wealth, and ignite human capital development, through job provision and revenue earnings.

Oyebanji added that he has a template and roadmap he would deploy to increase the internally generated revenue through effective and affordable tax regime that won’t put pressure or burden on the populace. 

To develop youth potential, Oyebanji stated that he would create a separate and independent Ministry of Youth Development to spearhead his human capital development plan, by severing the sports section from the Ministry and makes it a commission.

The incoming governor said: “My vision is to have a society where everyone will feel secured and prosper. If the state is not secured, have the right infrastructure, investors won’t come. We know that we can’t control or command the security forces as a state, but we can support them to deliver.

“The state presently enjoys just 20kws of electricity daily. But we will tap into the transmission line being built from Osogbo to Akure. So, power, security and access to Ekiti will be utmost on my priority list.”

On how to build a knowledge economy, in line with the global and modern trends, Oyebanji, said he would work with the State House of Assembly to tinker with the curriculum and inject robotics and Artificial Intelligence as a study.

“I will have to strike a balance between growth and development. Our development plan will be such that it will improve the people’s living standards.

“You may build Infrastructures, yet the people will remain poor. We should all know that knowledge and talents’ development create wealth, that was what Chief Obafemi Awolowo did in the old Western Region”.

Maintaining that he was not rattled by paucity of funds, Oyebanji added: “I will learn from Governor Kayode Fayemi, who has sustained the partnerships and relationships with development partners to make more monies for our state.

“We will be transparent and work hard to build strong institutions, rather than strong men to help our people.

“We can do N1.2 billion monthly IGR without necessarily putting pressure on our people. If those not captured or not paying taxes are convinced to pay or brought to the tax dragnet, our IGR will increase and we will spend it judiciously on areas of priorities”.

Oyebanji stated that he won’t pose as a leader with monopoly of knowledge or having superior mental capacity and capability than anyone, saying he would always rub minds with all the strata of Ekiti to usher in development.