Oyebanji Credits Tinubu for Governance Gains as LG Workers Back Re-election

By Joseph Sunday

Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, local government workers have pledged to deliver at least 200,000 votes for Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s re-election.

The commitment was announced Monday at the grand finale of a mega rally in Ado-Ekiti organized by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE.

Ekiti NULGE President, Mr. Oluseyi Olatunde, said Oyebanji has repositioned local government administration by improving working conditions, restoring efficiency, and boosting career progression for council staff.

He pointed to the governor’s appointment of six local government staff as Permanent Secretaries and others as Executive Secretaries as proof that “competence and dedication are rewarded” under the current administration. Olatunde assured that LG workers and their households would vote massively for the governor on Saturday.

Accepting the role of Grand Patron of NULGE in Ekiti, Oyebanji thanked workers across the state’s 16 local government areas for their “unwavering support from day one.” 

“You have stood by us from the start. We solved many local government problems in our first term, and we can do even more in a second,” he said.

Oyebanji also credited President Bola Tinubu for providing resources and an enabling environment that have aided development at the sub-national level.

NULGE National President, Comrade Aliyu Haruna Kankara, represented by Southwest Vice President, Comrade Rufus Babalola, described Oyebanji as a visionary leader. He praised the governor’s focus on local government development and workers’ welfare in less than four years in office.

Dignitaries present included Deputy Governor Monisade Afuye, Local Government Service Commission Chairman Alaba Bejide, ALGON Chairman Oluwasegun Ojo, NLC Chairman Kolapo Olusola, and other council leaders.

Tinubu’s Support Eased State Governance, Oyebanji Says  

In a separate media session in Ado-Ekiti over the weekend, Oyebanji said President Tinubu’s policies eased governance challenges for states.

He recalled struggling for six months after assuming office to balance Ekiti’s wage bill with capital projects, until Tinubu became president.

“President Tinubu’s interventionist programmes made more resources available to states. That enabled us to implement our shared prosperity agenda without the sleepless nights we had before,” Oyebanji said.

He cited ongoing federal projects like the Ado-Akure road and the newly approved concrete pavement for the Ado-Itawure road. The cost of the Ado-Itawure project alone, he noted, exceeds Ekiti’s entire 2023 budget.

The governor tied public endorsement of his administration to performance made possible by Tinubu’s support. He urged Ekiti residents to back the president’s re-election, saying Tinubu is “fixing things that have gone wrong in the last 30 years.”

“I have sat with him many times. He has clarity of intention and is putting the country on the right footing. He deserves our support,” Oyebanji said.