OYEBANJI HAILS GEN OLUYEDE’S APPOINTMENT AS Ag COAS.

OYEBANJI HAILS GEN OLUYEDE’S APPOINTMENT AS Ag COAS.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has congratulated Major- General Olufemi Oluyede on his appointment as the acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Governor also thanked the President for finding the Ikere-Ekiti born General Oluyede worthy of the appointment.

Governor Oyebanji, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode, said he has absolute confidence in General Oluyede’s ability to excel on the new assignment as he had done in previous assignments.

He described the acting COAS as a gallant officer with proven integrity and great accomplishments in his military career.

The Ekiti State Governor urged the new COAS to bring his wealth of experience and expertise to bear on the new assignment, especially at this critical period.

He also commiserated with Lt. Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, who is currently indisposed and wished him speedy recovery.

“Hearty congratulations to General Oluyede. The Government and good people of Ekiti State wish him God’s guidance in the new assignment. We also thank the President for finding him deserving of the elevation.”, he added.

OYEBANJI PRESENTS N375 BILLION BUDGET ESTIMATE FOR 2025.

OYEBANJI PRESENTS N375 BILLION BUDGET ESTIMATE FOR 2025.

...Gets lawmakers' applause for zero borrowing in 2024.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji on Tuesday presented a budget estimate of N375,790,077,618.15 for the 2025 fiscal year with special focus on food security, employment generation and wealth creation.

Presenting the Appropriation Bill before members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly at the Assembly Complex, Ado- Ekiti, Oyebanji explained that the budget estimate was prepared in line with global best practices to drive the Shared Prosperity agenda of his administration.

The Governor received a special applause from the state legislators led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, for executing the outgoing 2024 Budget without borrowing either internally or externally and recording a commendable budget performance for the year.

According to the 2025 budget estimate laid before the state parliament, N192,326,570,488.61 representing 51 per cent of the total amount budgeted was set aside for recurrent expenditure, while N183,463,507,129.54 representing 49 per cent of the estimate was earmarked as capital expenditure.

This was in contrast to the size of the Budget for the 2024 fiscal year of N150,575,481,915.00 out of which N88,952,583,682.410 was recurrent expenditure and N70,619,898,233.20 was capital expenditure.

Governor Oyebanji noted that the Recurrent Expenditure include Personnel Cost, Overhead Cost, Social Contributions and Benefits, Debt Service and Grants while Capital Expenditure relates to the cost of infrastructure and other developmental projects. 

The Governor explained that the preparation of the budget was equally in line with the inclusive governance policy of his administration after receiving inputs from all communities during the town hall meetings in the three senatorial districts of the state.

According to him, the 2025 budget estimate was carefully prepared to consolidate on the gains of the 2024 Budget by improving the agriculture sector to enhance food security, provide grants to business owners and boost micro, small and medium enterprises.

The Governor further assured that provision has been made in the 2025 Budget to accommodate the proposed new minimum wage, while attention would also be given to the completion of ongoing infrastructure projects embarked upon by his administration in different parts of the state. 

Aside thanking Ekiti people for their “overwhelming support “ for his administration, Governor Oyebanji also thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as the President’s “strong support “ for his administration. 

The Governor also listed some of the projects to be given top priority in the 2025 budget to include some road projects and water and sanitation projects. 

He said: "The proposed 2025 Budget will focus on food security, wealth creation and welfare of our people. It is important to reiterate that our Shared Prosperity agenda is hinged on six strategic pillars, which cut across all the sub-sectors of the economy.

"Our objective is to create sustainable prosperity and grow the economy by equipping our people with the requisite skills, creating jobs for our youths and women, and exposing them to information communication technology and expanding the range of opportunities available for everyone. 

"We are poised to sustain and create more conducive environment for investors and make Ekiti State the preferred destination to live, work, and invest.

"While we are making concerted effort to bridge the infrastructure deficit, we are also poised to create the enabling environment for investors in the State to increase our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

"Therefore, I wish to reiterate the commitment of our administration to provide basic and essential public infrastructure for sustainable economic growth. Accordingly, we shall focus on completing on-going infrastructural projects across the State in the coming year."

In his remarks, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aribasoye, urged all members of the Assembly to suspend their proposed journeys in order to give full attention to urgent duties before them including the consideration of the Appropriation Bill.

The Speaker said the consideration of the Appropriation Bill provides  the legislators ample opportunity to align their fiscal decisions with the aspirations and welfare of the people they represent urging them to commit themselves to the task in the interest of the people.

Rt. Hon. Aribasoye charged his colleagues to engage in the thorough scrutiny of the Budget proposal through the Standing Committees calling upon the Ministries, Department and Agencies to be ready to defend their proposals

He said: "We must ensure that every Naira allocated serves the interest of the people of Ekiti State and we must be champions of accountability and stewards of public trust. We must ensure that the Budget represents the aspirations of Ekiti people."

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye; the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Habibat Adubiaro; Head of Service, Dr. Folake Olomojobi; members of the State Executive Council, former Assembly members and traditional rulers led by the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe.

Market Ownership Crisis: Ekiti Govt Warns Against Violence in Kota, Isaya Communities.

Market Ownership Crisis: Ekiti Govt Warns Against Violence in Kota, Isaya Communities.

.…Orders proper demarcation to ascertain true owner.

The Ekiti State Government, has warned Isaya and Kota Ekiti communities in Ekiti East Local Government Area against allowing the raging disagreements over the ownership of a market facility in their border snowball into violence and bloodshed that can disrupt the existing peace in the towns.

The government posited that the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji places high premium on peace and that crisis over boundary won’t be allowed to fester into anarchy in any of the communities in the state.

The Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje, handed down the warning in Ado Ekiti, on Monday, while intervening in a crisis over the ownership of Igbo Olugba Market located between Isaya and Kota Ekiti.

The intervention was sequel to a petition written by Elekota of Kota Ekiti, Oba Emmanuel Olukayode, claiming that the market built within the border area of the two towns is not owned by Isaya community as being claimed.

Speaking at the trouble-shooting parley, Mrs Afuye, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor, Mr. Abayomi Opeyemi, described the two communities as good neighbours, who should allow the spirit of oneness to continue to guide their actions and footsteps without disruption.

The Deputy Governor stated that proper demarcation remains the best way to settle the matter, pointing out that the two communities should be ready to embrace the spirit of give and take in brokering truce on the matter.

“In the last two years, most of the activities of our Boundary Commission were centred around settling rifts between towns that were granted autonomy. It is just normal, it is not something that is strange, but we can manage it. The spirit of give and take must be applied to have peace in our communities. Nobody can have it all.

“Coming to the issue at hand, all the facilities that you built together were jointly owned before, but you are now separated by autonomy, I believe the new town should inherit the facility. But now that the market is within your border area, the Boundary Commission will visit the place to ascertain the right owner.

“The government of Biodun Oyebanji is incurably committed to ensuring peace in all our towns. Again, don’t allow this crisis to cause a wedge between your generations. You have been together before, allow the longstanding unity between you to remain strong”, she advised.

Addressing the gathering, Oba Olukayode noted that the market remains the property of Kota, stating that his town did not take over the existing structures in Omuo Ekiti after securing autonomy, saying all the markets and other facilities built together remain in Omuo -Obadore based on the agreement signed in 1976.

The monarch called for the intervention of Boundary Commission to undertake proper demarcation of the two communities to forestall the breakdown of law and order.

In his reaction, the Asaya of Isaya Ekiti, Oba Ajayi Elejogun, maintained that the land where the market was located is within the precinct of his territory, saying history and available documents solidly backed such claim.

Oba Elejogun welcomed the state government proposition that experts from the office of the Boundary Commission will be deployed in the area to conduct proper demarcation that will resolve the bedlam.

Ekiti Targets 200,000 as FG’s 10m Campaign Against Hypertension, Diabetes Kicks Off.

Ekiti Targets 200,000 as FG’s 10m Campaign Against Hypertension, Diabetes Kicks Off.

The Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed readiness to tackle the exponential increase in the number of hypertension and diabetes patients in the State, saying this accounted for why the state keyed into the project 10 million campaign initiative by federal government to reduce the scourges.

Oyebanji lamented that over 70% of mortality being suffered by people between ages 30 and 70 were caused by the duo of hypertension and diabetes, which he said make them the most notorious killers of the Nigerian productive population.

The governor said these on Monday, while flagging off the federal government’s powered project 10m Campaign against hypertension and diabetes tagged: “know your number, control your number”, in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State Capital.

Oyebanji, represented by the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, said the project 10m, is a national initiative by the forum of health commissioners in the country, to tackle increasing prevalence of hypertension and diabetes.

He said Ekiti was combining the ‘project 10 Million initiative’ with an innovative state intervention to rapidly increase demand for primary health care services in Ekiti State, that is key to achieving universal health coverage for the people.

Oyebanji posited that it was highly depressing and disturbing, that there is an increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the country due to various factors including change in our lifestyle, saying 27% of deaths in the country are caused by non- communicable diseases.

The governor said: “There is a 70 percent chance of dying from hypertension and diabetes between the ages of 30 and 70 years in Nigeria. Despite this alarming statistics a lot of people are not aware of their status as far as these health conditions are concerned making them a silent threat to their health and wellbeing.

“We hope to conduct free screening for about 200,000 people in Ekiti State for hypertension and diabetes within the week long campaign in 161 screening centres across the state from Monday 28 October to Sunday 3″ November 2024 with a focus on adult from age 18 years”.

The governor stated that counseling will be organised for all participants on non-communicable diseases and newly diagnosed people will be linked to a hospital closest to them for care, saying there will also be opportunity for short term refill for known hypertension patients during the exercise.

Cataloguing his achievements in the health sector, Oyebanji disclosed that his government had through Ulera Wa, expanded free antenatal care services, free delivery and post-delivery care services for all pregnant women, free immunization services for all children, free treatment of all children under the age of five years, among others.

Oyebanji appealed to traditional leaders, religious organizations, market women, local government leaders, health workers, and civil society organizations , to support this intervention and ensure its success in their various jurisdictions.

In his submission, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, said the rationale behind the free screening was to checkmate the frightening and spiraling level of hypertension and diabetes across the country, Ekiti inclusive.

Filani revealed that statistics confirmed that about 27 percent of morbidity rate in the country was due to the scourges of hypertension and diabetes, which he said makes it imperative for the citizens to participate in the free health programme.

“Our mission in Ekiti State is to spread this campaign to as many people as possible, to know the number of victims and to be able to control it. With the Primary Healthcare programme, we are planning to ensure that children of less than five years have access to immunisation and pregnant women are made to have access to pregnancy kits and strong ante natal care to reduce in fact and maternal mortality rates”.

The Commissioner stated that the programme will be extended to palaces of traditional rulers , schools, market places and faith based institutions, where citizens can access without inhibition.

Organizers Unveil Colorful Kits For Agbeyewa Cup Finalists.

Organizers Unveil Colorful Kits For Agbeyewa Cup Finalists.

.....As Ministry Of Education Sports Directorate, Thumbs Up Sponsors.

The thrilling finale of the second edition of the Agbeyewa Ekiti Secondary Schools Football Championship is just around the corner! The four teams vying for glory on Tuesday, October 29, will dazzle in brand-new, top-quality kits, courtesy of the tournament organizers, Agbeyewa Farms.

The assurance was given by the Director of Community Engagement of Agbeyewa Farms, Alhaji Dauda Lawal (ADL), during the official presentation of jerseys to the teams that will battle it out in the third-place and final matches on Tuesday 29th.

In a symbolic gesture, ADL handed over the vibrant jerseys to team officials in the presence of members of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Ekiti State chapter, led by its Chairman, Qozeem Oladapo. He emphasized that Agbeyewa is committed to elevating sports sponsorship through exceptional branding, organization, and impetus for participants and officials. He therefore noted that the initiative has no ulterior motives or political undertones but rather aims to constructively engage talented school pupils.

"Agbeyewa Foundation is passionate about uncovering hidden gems across Ekiti State through football," ADL declared.

Meanwhile, the Director of School Sports, Ministry of Education, Mr. Braimoh Idowu has commended Agbeyewa's visionary approach, describing their investment in youth sports as "unprecedented and laudable." He expressed gratitude on behalf of the state government for the significant resources committed to nurturing young sporting talents in the state.

Aside from the kits for the finalist teams, referees and sports writers also received premium souvenirs, including T-shirts and caps well branded with the Agbeyewa logo. 

The organizers have extended invitations to major sports stakeholders in the state, ensuring a star-studded attendance at the final. The event promises to be a spectacular, world-class experience, complete with:

- Live streaming on social media

- Live radio commentary

Let's all get ready for an electrifying conclusion to the Agbeyewa Ekiti Secondary Schools Football Championship.

I am Adl Reporting

Ekiti Records major Improvement in Health Indices Released by NDHS Report.

Ekiti Records major  Improvement in Health Indices Released by NDHS Report.

…as neonatal, infant, and under 5 mortality drop by more than 50 per cent.

Ekiti State has recorded  significant improvements in its  health indices according to the recently released report of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. 

 

The report indicated that neonatal, infant, and under 5 Mortality in the State had reduced by over 50 per cent in the past five years.

According to a breakdown of the report, teenage pregnancy has reduced by 30 per cent ; decreased unmet need for family planning by 30 per cent, and increased facility delivery by 14 per cent. 

The State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani,  noted that with the NDHS report,  Ekiti State has surpassed its expected targets set four years ago. 

In his words, "45,000 additional under-5 lives have been saved between 2019 and 2024 representing 75% of children under 5 that would have died if we maintain 2018 under 5 mortality figures."

Also, the states moved from 31st to 5th best performer in neonatal mortality between 2019 and 2024.

Dr Filani, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum, said there were key strategies that contributed to the milestone, which was a significant improvement compared to what was obtainable some four years ago. 

Filani disclosed that despite high coverage of selected interventions four years ago, the health outcomes of the state remained suboptimal and lagged behind other southwestern states. 

"According to the 2019 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), one in 24 infants died within the first month of births, and one in 11 children died before their fifth birthday." 

The Health Commissioner said several factors were responsible for the commendable stance of the current state of the state’s  health sector, including strong political leadership and support of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, leading to huge investment in the health sector; regular meeting and reviews, accountability as well as team work.

Other strategies, according to Dr Filani, include building aggressive partnership portfolios through demonstration of results, maintaining fiscal fidelity, and ensuring accountability through which more development partners felt comfortable working with the state. 

"All these strategies, amongst others, have not only improved health outcomes but also laid a strong foundation for a resilient and sustainable health system in Ekiti State." He stated.

Ekiti State Advances Agricultural Mechanization with New Partnerships and Tractors.

Ekiti State Advances Agricultural Mechanization with New Partnerships and Tractors.

...investor set to bring over 20 additional tractors to Ekiti by the end of next month.

Ekiti State is taking a significant step forward in agricultural development with a new partnership involving Hello Tractor and John Deere. This collaboration, endorsed by Governor Biodun Oyebanji, aims to boost farming efficiency and support smallholder farmers across the state through enhanced farmland mapping and Tractorization subsidy schemes.

Earlier this year, Ekiti State partnered with Hello Tractor to launch a groundbreaking initiative, leveraging advanced technology to map over 2,000 hectares of farmland. The initial phase saw about 80% of the targeted land successfully Tractorized, a development that has considerably improved farming operations for local producers. However, the project also faced challenges, particularly for Mechanization Service Providers (MSPs), whose operations were impacted by equipment downtime due to challenging terrains, delaying timely service to farmers and affecting crop yields.

To address these challenges, the Commissioner of Agriculture and his team decided to acquire additional tractors to support emergency intervention projects and facilitate timely assistance for farmers without disrupting the current market. Today, Ekiti State received a first batch of new tractors and agricultural equipment from John Deere. These resources, managed by the private sector, will ensure higher standards of efficiency, durability, and accountability, promoting a sustainable mechanization framework that empowers both service providers and farmers.

Reaffirming the state’s commitment to an inclusive model, the Commissioner thanked Governor Oyebanji for his steadfast support of agricultural growth. The Ekiti government will continue to subsidize land preparation to make it affordable for smallholder farmers, while encouraging private service providers to actively participate in the mechanization sector.

In a promising move, an investor is set to bring over 20 additional tractors to Ekiti by the end of next month, boosting the state’s capacity for comprehensive land clearing and expanding Tractorization access for farming clusters free of charge. Ekiti State stands ready to welcome more Mechanization Service Providers to support its vision of agricultural resilience and prosperity. With these initiatives, the state positions itself as a leader in modernized agriculture, paving the way for enhanced productivity and economic empowerment for its citizens.