Cleric Urges Oyebanji To Tackle Inflation, Calls For Overhaul Of Ekiti’s Economic Team

By Joseph Sunday 

A senior cleric, Most Rev Oluwaseun Raphael Fagbohun, has urged the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, to intensify efforts at addressing inflation and economic hardship in the state, warning that Ekiti is currently among the states most affected by rising prices.

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Fagbohun, the Presiding Bishop of the Old Catholic Apostolic Church, Nigeria, and President of African Old Catholic Churches in Nigeria, made the call during the church’s annual thanksgiving service held on December 20, 2025, in Iyin-Ekiti.

The retired pioneer chaplain of the Nigeria Police Force, Force Headquarters, Abuja, said Ekiti’s status as an agrarian state should ordinarily shield it from severe food inflation, unemployment and widespread poverty. 

He expressed concern that the economic realities on ground, in his view, do not reflect government pronouncements.

According to the cleric, recent statistics indicate that Ekiti has topped inflation charts in recent months, a development he described as troubling. 

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He questioned why food items are reportedly more expensive in Ekiti than in cities such as Abuja and Lagos, despite the state being a major producer of agricultural commodities.

While commending the state government for disbursing ₦1 billion to about 5,000 youths under its agricultural empowerment programme, Bishop Fagbohun described the intervention as insufficient to significantly impact large-scale agricultural productivity.

“When you break it down, that amounts to about ₦200,000 per beneficiary. Agriculture requires substantial capital. What can that amount realistically achieve in the face of current costs?” he asked.

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The cleric called on Governor Oyebanji to review the composition of his economic team and consider replacing underperforming appointees with technocrats who possess the expertise to drive economic growth. 

He advised that politics should be separated from economic management to achieve measurable results.

Bishop Fagbohun, however, praised the governor’s response to security challenges in the state, urging him to apply the same urgency and focus to economic issues affecting residents.

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“Security-wise, Ekiti is relatively stable, and that is commendable. But the major threats confronting the people now are hunger and poverty. Governance must now focus on delivering tangible economic relief,” he said.

He further encouraged the governor to draw lessons from the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that difficult but decisive reforms are sometimes required to stabilise the economy.

The cleric also used the occasion to reiterate concerns about attacks on Christians in parts of the country, while acknowledging that Ekiti has largely remained peaceful. 

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He concluded by stressing that economic hardship, rather than insecurity, remains the most pressing challenge facing residents of the state.

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