Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has absolved President Bola Tinubu of any blame over the current economic situation in the country, saying the situation preceded his ascendancy to office.
He, however, said the president is capable of fixing the current challenges if given ample time and necessary support.
The governor, who spoke in Ado Ekiti during the monthly Evening of Praise and Worship programme on Friday, urged Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government.
Oyebanji, who said that palliatives would not bring a permanent solution to the food crisis in the country, called on every Nigerian to embrace farming and become productive in their way, and in the process support the country’s growth and development.
He said, “I just want to encourage us today as children of God to keep faith in God and to also amplify our prayers for Nigeria, for Ekiti State, and for the President. I understand what we are going through, but the truth of the matter is that the President is not the cause of these crises, but God has prepared him for a time like this. What he needs is our support, our prayers, our understanding, and encouragement.
“I am just pleading with us that the President needs our help, he needs our prayers, we should not do anything to discourage him. We should thank God that we have a man of courage, a man God had prepared for a time like this, I believe in God that we will get out of this problem and when the time comes and the dividends of these reforms are unraveled, all of us will be alive.
“I thank Ekiti people for maintaining peace and I promise that we’ll continue to lessen these burdens, but the truth of the matter, which many people don’t want to listen to is that palliatives will not solve these problems, it can only be a temporary measure, when you give someone a bag of rice, in two weeks it would have finished.
“We have embarked on a programme that by next year, we will have food sufficiency in this state, because, if we don’t make haste now, I pray next year will not be worse than this. We must be able to grow ourselves out of hunger, which is what the President told us last week.
“Government will do its bit, but you have to go back to the farm. So, no matter how small, let’s start bit by bit, you have to grow what you will eat and at least be able to feed yourself,” be added.
