Ekiti Speaker Urges Youths To Shun Drugs Abuse.

Ekiti Speaker Urges Youths To Shun Drugs Abuse.

....Rallies support for Oyebanji to achieve shared prosperity.

The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, has called on the youths in the state to refrain from drug abuse for them to realize their potentials and contribute meaningfully to societal development.

Rt. Hon. Aribasoye also charged all stakeholders in the state to join hands together and battle the menace of drug abuse to a standstill in order to have a saner society.

The Speaker made the remarks on Monday while receiving leaders and members of the state chapter of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) who staged "Ekiti Youth Peace Walk" to the Assembly Complex as part of activities to mark this year's International Day Against Drug Abuse.

Rt. Hon. Aribasoye also used the opportunity of the interface to canvass support of the youths of the state for the Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, to enable him achieve his Shared Prosperity Agenda for the entire people of the state.

He specifically commended the youths for praising the giant strides of the Oyebanji Administration through the various banners and placards they carried during their procession and also appreciating the efforts of the Governor in their remarks.

The Speaker who was joined by other lawmakers in the Assembly to receive the NYCN team also advised the youths to be part of governance by sponsoring private bills for consideration by the state legislature in critical areas that affect them especially in policy formulation and decision making.

He said the Assembly would like the youth body to do the spadework on a Roadmap to Youth Development in Ekiti State which would incorporate vital areas that concerns the youth like political ascendancy, job creation, economic empowerment, among others.

The Speaker also disclosed the readiness of the Seventh Assembly to come up with a law that would prohibit smoking in public places noting that "public smoking does not only affect the smokers but also affects non-smokers."

Speaking on the effects of drug abuse on the youths, Rt. Hon. Aribasoye regretted that abuse of hard drugs has had a negative effect on the youths urging all concerned individuals, authorities, institutions and bodies to come together and halt the trend in the interest of the youths and their future.

He said: "Today, as you have observed, is the International Day Against Drug Abuse. One of the things that have destroyed the future of the youths is drug abuse and all of us must be ambassadors, all of us must be champions to campaign against drug abuse.

"Anywhere we find ourselves, we must campaign against drug abuse. We just have to do it for us to have a saner society, we must campaign against drug abuse, it is very, very important.

"Drug abuse has affected many lives and destroyed destinies. God has give our youths talents to positively affect their generation and we must not allow drug abuse to hinder them from realizing their potentials. 

"Very soon, we are coming up with a law against public smoking. Public smoking does not only affect the smokers but those who don't smoke who must be protected from the effects of public smoking."

The Speaker further charged the youths to come together as a united force calling all tendencies in the youth movement to come under one umbrella in the interest of the youths of the state.

He promised that when the standing committees of the Assembly are put in place, the Youth Committee would work hand-in-hand with NYCN to protect the interest of the youths and assist them to get the best in the scheme of things in the state.

Speaking earlier, the state NYCN Chairman, Mr. Oluwasegun Famuyibo, pledged the support of the body and entire youths of the state for the Oyebanji Administration which he described as "youth-friendly."

Mr. Famuyibo commended Governor Oyebanji for creating Ministry of Youths and Job Creation which he described as bold step to give the young generation better welfare and tackle youth unemployment in the state.

He also hailed the Oyebanji Administration for various infrastructure projects that are going on in the state especially road construction and rehabilitation, empowerment of the less privileged, improvement of grassroots economy, among others.

Mr. Famuyibo craved the support of the House of Assembly for the implementation of Ekiti Youth Policy which has its centrepiece how youths can benefit from various MDAs, provision of jobs, entrepreneurship development, empowerment, among other benefits.

The state NYCN chief said the youths of the state are against hard drugs and would continue to mount strident advocacy against the menace in collaboration with relevant agencies of government and other stakeholders.

He also presented the action plan of the NYCN to the Speaker for further scrutiny and implementation.

The procession to the Assembly Complex was joined by NYCN leadership and delegates from other states in the Southwest.

Oyebanji urges Ekiti youths to embrace agribusiness.

Oyebanji urges Ekiti youths to embrace agribusiness.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has said that his government would put all machinery in motion to encourage youths in the state to engage in agricultural business to help boost the state economy and the food security agenda of his administration.

The Governor, who stated this on Friday while on a working tour of some agricultural projects in Ado- Ekiti, said he was impressed with the resolve of some youths to embrace agriculture full time, stressing that one day, they too would become employers of labour.

The project visited by the Governor include: The Livestock Development Centre, which provides platform for the Ekiti Broiler Production Scheme; A-Bamsil Industrial Factory , a palm kernel processing plant; and JMK Rice Mill, said government alone cannot fund agriculture, hence, the need for improved public, private partnership to reposition the economy of the state.

He said his administration would build platforms and institutions aimed at collaborating with private sector players to open up space for Ekiti people to apply their expertise in the drive to ensure everyone lives wel. The Governor, who addressed some of the youth participating in the broilers Scheme,  promised to remove all forms of constraints in doing business in the state.

The Governor who said that Agriculture plays very significant roles in the economy stated  that agriculture has the capacity to employ thousands of youths, make them enjoy vibrant and profitable means of livelihood and enhance the economy of the state.

According to him, “Part of our plan is to encourage our young ones to go back to farm. The Broiler scheme for our youths is a pilot scheme and I’m so impressed that our young ones are now showing interest in agriculture and it speaks to one of our agenda on agriculture, job creation and youth development. And by God’s grace, once this one is stabilized, we intend to expand it, the beauty of this project is the fact that government will hand-hold them through the whole process of production.

“There is also a guaranteed market to off-take from this. Once they master what they are doing, they will be given a pen of their own that will belong to them, from which they too can employ labour and make money and it speaks to our shared prosperity agenda.

“We have to accept the fact that government alone cannot do everything and for wealth to go round and for jobs to be created, there must be platforms and institutions collaborating with private sector to open the space for many people to do a lot. What we are doing today is just one of the interventions in the agricultural sector, we are going to do this in other sectors to ensure that we get platforms and institutions and policies that will allow everybody to plying their trade in Ekiti State to do well and we will remove all the inhibitions towards doing business in Ekiti State.

“So, it is a policy that we have now agreed on. We have spent the last six months to understudy and understand the problem in that sector because, we want to intervene from an informed perspective, and we are not doing trial by error.”, the governor added.

Conducting the Governor round the JMK Rice Mill, the General Manager, Mr Lanre Solaja expressed his appreciation to the Governor for the visit. He said  when fully operational, the mill has the capacity to produce 160 metric tons of rice per day.

The Managing Director of A-Bamsil industry, Mr Idowu Owoyomi, who said the factory is capable of refining 250 metric tons of palm kernel, highlighted some of the products the factory is capable of processing to include cooking oil, cosmetics, oil for perfumes, soap among others.

Airport Project: Oyebanji assures famers of adequate compensation for acquired farmland.

Airport Project: Oyebanji assures famers of adequate compensation for acquired farmland.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has assured farmers whose farmland and produce were affected by the Ekiti Airport project that the state government would adequately compensate them.

Governor Oyebanji gave the assurance on Friday, when he met with the aggrieved farmers in his office in Ado Ekiti. The Governor appreciated the farmers for not resulting into violence in a bid to express their grievances.

The meeting was called to address issues of adequate compensation raised by the farmers during a recent protest in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

Stating that government was not unmindful of the fact that the farmland was their source of income, he assured them that government would work out just and proper compensation for them.

The Governor added that government would sit down with the farmers and work out modalities it will adopt in paying them since government may not be able pay the money at once. 

“Let me first thank you for the step you took, you did not fight, you only resulted to a peaceful protest and I’m very happy about that. What that is teaching us is that each time we have disagreement, we should not destroy things, we should sit down together for dialogue.

“This matter is not difficult, what you are saying is not that you don’t want to cooperate with government to develop that place, you are only saying your right should be given to you, I have heard you. We will look into it and we will see how we are going to go about it because government may not be able to pay everything at once but we will sit down with you and work out how to pay it in batches so that everybody will get paid, the Governor said."

Earlier in his remark, the Edemo of Igbemo Ekiti, Chief Ojo Awe who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved farmers, thanked Governor Oyebanji for granting them audience, stressing that the Governor is indeed a compassionate leader who care about his people.

Chief Edemo, lamented that the farmers in the nine affected communities whose lands were acquired for the airport project, have lost huge amount of money they invested on the crops. He therefore urged the Government to address their grievances and pay them their compensation.

Oyebanji doles Out over N9m to vulnerable citizens.

Oyebanji doles Out over N9m to vulnerable citizens.

 .... urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the privilege given to them.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has doled out over nine million naira to some vulnerable citizens who sought assistance from the state government.

The beneficiaries who were at the Governor’s Office, in Ado—Ekiti went home with varying amount of money and working tools for their crafts. 

Presenting the cash and tools to the beneficiaries, the Senior Special Assistant, Governor's Office, Mrs Sola Abe said the gesture from the Governor was to ensure that poverty is eradicate from the society.

Mrs. Abe said that part of the gesture include payment of hospital bills, working tools and financial assistance for setting up businesses for those interested in business.

She urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the privilege given to them by the Governor to improve their well-being.

Also the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Community Communication, Mrs Mary Oso-Omotosho said that selection of the beneficiaries had no no political considerations, but based on needs. 

According to her, Governor Oyebanji put in place the program to help the less privilege.

This is a rare opportunity that not all  government does, even citizens from other states are requesting to be part of Mr Governor's largesse, this goes on to mean that what Governor Oyebanji is doing here gets to other states. 

“This is a personal decision on the part of the Governor to reach out to the less privilege. It is a promise he made within himself to see to the welfare of the ordinary citizens.

Some if the beneficiaries including Omotayo Olawale, Azeez Imsail Owolabi, Akomolafe Bosede commended the gesture of the Governor to provide means of livelihood to the citizens.

Ekiti Police arrest two for stealing diesel from government generating plant.

Ekiti Police arrest two for stealing diesel from government generating plant.

Operatives of the Ekiti State Police Command on Tuesday arrested two suspects involved in stealing of diesel from the generating plants used in powering street lights in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

Briefing journalists on the arrest, in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sunday Abutu, said the two suspects, Joseph Danjuma and Bankola Idowu, were arrested by men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) along NTA Road, while trying to get away with a 25 litre gallon containing diesel suspected to have been stolen from the generating set.

The Police Spokesperson said the suspects confessed during interrogation that they committed the crime, adding that they would be arraigned in due course. 

According to him, the suspects also confessed that they have been selling the stolen diesel to unsuspecting residents of Ado-Ekiti, for some time. 

DSP Abutu therefore called on residents of the state to always be security conscious, and endeavor to report any untoward incident around them to security operatives so as to take necessary actions.

Nigerian Health Workers Honour Oyebanji With 'Most Labour Friendly Governor Award.

Nigerian Health Workers Honour Oyebanji With 'Most Labour Friendly Governor Award 

..…Governor Reiterates Commitment to Workers' Welfare. 

The Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) has honoured Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji with the Most Labour Friendly Governor Award for giant strides he had so far made in bettering the Workers' standard of living 

The award was bestowed on Governor Oyebanji at the 8th Quadriennial National Delegates' Conference of NUAHP in Abuja where he was the Special Guest of Honour and Award Recipient.

The Governor was invited to grace the Opening Ceremony of the Conference  with the theme: "Alarming Brain Drain in Nigeria's Health Sector: Need for Emergency Rescue."

The NUAHP said the award was "in recognition of Governor Oyebanji's good industrial relations policy and appointment of members of the union into his cabinet in Ekiti State."

The Governor who was represented by the Commissioner, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, promised not to relent in his commitment to the welfare of health professionals and workers in general in the state.

Expressing his delight at being recognized for the award ,Governor Oyebanji said the honour would spur him to give priority to the health needs of the people of Ekiti State in the areas of ensuring better facilities at health institutions and boosting the morale of workers.

Governor Oyebanji noted that his passion has always been to make life meaningful for the Ekiti citizenry noting that he would always do his best to realize the objective within the available resources of the state.

He further reiterated his commitment to the welfare of workers generally across the state especially in ensuring prompt payment of salaries, offsetting the arrears of benefits, capacity building, among others.

The Conference was attended by over 600 union members from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

Membership of the delegates was drawn from the following professions at the primary, secondary and tertiary health institutions in the country: Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Science, Physiotherapy, Health Information Management, Radiography, Dietetics, Dental Technology Occupation Therapy, Nutrition, Social Work, Speech Therapy, Dental Therapy, Optometry, Clinical Psychology, Prosthetics/Orthotics, Medical Physic, Audiology, EEG and EGC  specialists, among others.

Oyebanji Thanks President Tinubu Over Alake, Olanrewaju's Appointments.

Oyebanji Thanks President Tinubu Over Alake, Olanrewaju's Appointments.

....described the duo as experienced, capable and hardworking ready to promote the nation developments. 

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the appointments of two illustrious citizens of the state- Mr Dele Alake as Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy and Hon Ibrahim Olanrewaju, as Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).

Governor Oyebanji who described the duo of Alake and Olanrewaju as “very experienced, hardworking and capable”, said he was happy the President found them worthy of such significant positions in his government.

The Governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Yinka Oyebode, said he is optimistic that the former lawmaker would excel in his new role as the President’s Liaison Officer in the National Assembly, giving his antecedence as a decent and pragmatic politician and lawmaker, who served as Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture and Production Services as well as member of the Defence, Judiciary, Environment and Justice committees in the 9th House of Representatives under the Speakership of Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.

While congratulating Hon Olarewaju Kunle Ibrahim  on the new appointment, which he described as a notable recognition of his steadfastness, political maturity and high level integrity, Governor Oyebanji urged him to deploy his energy, contact, tact and political sagacity in building an excellent working relationship between the National Assembly and the Presidency, a development he said is crucial to the country’s political stability.

Similarly, Governor Oyebanji said Alake’s wealth of experience as a Veteran journalist, prolific writer, media manager, pro- democracy activist and political communication strategist would add a great value to the administration’s commitment to run a people-oriented government, where effective communication with the citizenry is very key.    

He described the Ikoro-Ekiti born Alake as a highly decorated journalist and communication strategist who has continued to demonstrate great capacity for communication strategies and perception management since his role as a  Communication Adviser to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola in the nineties; his eight years stint as Commissioner for Information and Strategy during the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in Lagos State and his recent role as Communication Adviser during the presidential campaigns, with outstanding performance.

 “This is a call to serve and I trust the duo of Alake and Olanrewaju’s capacities to make huge success of the new assignments the way they have done in previous assignments given to them. 

“On behalf of the Government and good people of Ekiti State, I extend our heartfelt gratitude to the President for this great honour and recognition accorded our brothers- Mr Dele Alake and Hon Kunle Ibrahim Olarewaju . 

“Hearty congratulations to them on the new appointments. We wish them success as they deploy their energy, contacts, wealth of experience and political sagacity in repositioning their respective offices for excellent service delivery in the overall interest of the country”, the Governor said.