Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has praised Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s commitment to various developmental projects in Ekiti State.
Sanwo-Olu, who was the special guest of honour at the commissioning of the 17.8km Ring Road – First Phase project, said it reflects Oyebanji’s commitment to purposeful governance and improving the socio-economic condition and well-being of Ekiti people.
The Lagos governor described Oyebanji as a shining light to the progressive family noting that he is an embodiment of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.
His words: “Your governor is one of our shining lights, your governor is one of our leading lights. He is not only a man of humility, he is a man that once you give him an assignment, he executes it with precision, with commitment and with a sense of purpose. He is one of our governors that we have trusted to ensure that the leadership and the day-to-day of government are running well.
“We have listened to the people of Ekiti State and we have seen that indeed through you, purposeful governance is happening in Ekiti State. The real dividends of democracy is touching the nooks and crannies of Ekiti State. Your people can feel, see, touch. It is not governance that is in the air, it is governance they can demonstrate.
“You are also an embodiment of what the President has asked all of us to go and do. He continues to hold all of us, he continues to challenge us and ensure that Abuja cannot be everywhere. The sub-national is the real sense even the renewed hope agenda can be implemented.”
Sanwo-Olu further reiterated that Governor Oyebanji’s visionary leadership resonates deeply with his shared prosperity mantra to transform the social and economic infrastructures in the state.
“What BAO is doing is ensuring that he can connect with the centre and he can bring meaningful development to the people of Ekiti State. You have a man, whom in three years, what others cannot do even in four years and beyond, from what I have heard is connecting with you very well. He is showing you that indeed, leadership is about servantship and ensuring that what they say they will do, they will do it. I am truly proud in what he has done in just three years.
“A ring road that will interconnect towns, cities and villages and help increase your economic power – that is meaningful governance, that is purposeful governance. For you to show that and stop not so good stop and start you do in Ekiti, a second term for BAO is additional prosperity, purposeful governance, women empowerment, youth engagement.”
Earlier, Governor Oyebanji expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for creating an ecosystem that has freed more resources to all states of the federation saying that his administration has not borrowed money to fund all the projects in the state.
Oyebanji said: “We have been able to do this because we have a President that has stabilised the economy, a President that came in well-prepared and came in with a master plan to restructure the country financially and politically. He has created an ecosystem that has made private investments to thrive in this country.
“Your Excellency, all the capital projects we have doing in Ekiti State in the last three years that I became governor, we have not borrowed a dime simply because the President has been transparent with our common wealth.”
He revealed that there will be toll gate on the road in line with Public-Private-Partnership law of the state saying “This road is very critical to us. It is going to be the first toll road in any state of the federation. The Ekiti State government and Craneburg Motorways went to the capital market, rated resources to do this road. We have leveraged our balance sheet to raise money in the capital market. This is the first of its kind and many states are coming to understudy our PPP law.”
In his opening address, Commissioner for Works, Sola Adebayo commended the Governor for transforming the State noting that the project will address critical transportation challenges in the state capital and its environs and stimulate economic growth in the areas.
In their separate goodwill messages, including the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Stephen Aribasoye and other eminent personalities expressed with profound joy on Governor Oyebanji’s impactful leadership in the state.
