Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State said he will not impose any candidate on the people in the upcoming Local Government Election.
Oyebanji said this Tuesday in Ido Ekiti, during a town hall meeting with stakeholders in Ekiti North Senatorial District, comprising Ido/Osi, Moba, Ilejemeje, Ikole and Oye council areas.
He promised to be fair to all the contestants but warned them against being desperate or attempting to lobby him for possible imposition.
“I will be fair to all of you.
“I am a process person, so nobody should put me under pressure because the party has been handed into the hands of the leaders.
“They are the owners of the party, so all of you, particularly the contestants, must cooperate with them.
“I am not going to impose anybody.
“Many of you are now scrambling for council positions because you now consider it juicier than commissionership.
“Whoever doesn’t respect the leaders of the party will mismanage the council, if elected.
“I have instructed the leaders to take charge.
“Those running from pillar to post, I wish them well, but I am with the party,” the governor said.
Responding to the demands by council representatives at the meeting, he said that he promised during his campaign that his government would be all inclusive as obtained during his predecessor, Kayode Fayemi’s tenure.
According to him, the immediate past governor believed firmly in the people as the powerhouse of any administration.
Oyebanji said that his government had its eye fixed on delivering on the promises he made to the people and that he would not get distracted or derailed from actualising his dream for the state.
He said: “I am going to deliver everything I promised Ekiti people.
“I am not going to be distracted. I have my plans and I will follow them to the letter.
“You are my employer and I owe it a duty to always come and feed you back.”
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The governor, however, said that the government might not have the financial muscle to actualise all the demands in the 2024 budget.
According to him, part of the reasons for the stakeholders’ meeting was to prioritise the demands.
“In every 100 days, I have been doing a ‘state of the state’ programme with you.
“It was a feedback mechanism. I have worked in Ekiti North, Central and South districts.
“The next one will be in Central,” the Governor said.
He said that being a leader did not make him the most brilliant or all-knowing.
“I don’t know it all, so I need your input in whatever I do.
“We have just spent a year in the saddle, you will see that by the time we will spend two or three years, you will start enjoying the fruit of what we have done,” he said.
He further said that besides placing a high premium on road construction, his government would make a tremendous impact in electricity generation, job creation, economy, ICT and health facilities.
Oyebanji also spoke on the deplorable condition of the federal roads in the state.
He said that it would be difficult to undertake to fix such roads without commitment that the money expended would be refunded to the State.
He said that though the state was financially challenged, he would ensure that the little that was available was judiciously expended for the overall good of the people.
“I will never deceive you, though we can’t do everything in a year.
“We have about three years, if what you sent this year was not done or captured in the 2024 budget, it will be captured in 2025.
“I am assuring you that this money that you and God have entrusted in my care, I will spend for you.
“I am not going to disappoint. But for me to be successful, I need your support, patience and advice all the time,” he said.
He charged the prospective council chairmen to consult widely and feel the pulse of the people before executing any project in any town, adding that project citing must be based on the people’s needs.
He also advised them to patronise local contractors, so that the money belonging to the government can circulate across all the strata of the state.
The demands made by the five councils centred majorly on road infrastructure, electrification, standard health facilities and schools.
The Ekiti State government has fixed the LG election for December this year.
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