Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji: A Narrative of Vision-Led Governance in Ekiti State.
By Asubiojo G .O & IILG Information And Civic Orientation Department Team.
In the evolving political and developmental landscape of Nigeria’s federating units, Ekiti State occupies a particularly compelling chapter — shaped in recent years by the leadership of Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji. Since assuming office in October 2022, his administration has sought to strike a delicate balance between breadth of institutional reform and depth of human-centered delivery — blending technocratic policy with a grounded emotional appeal to the aspirations of Ekiti’s people.
From the outset, Oyebanji’s governance style has rested on two interlocking pillars — strategic economic stewardship and institutional accountability. Ekiti State has maintained no new borrowing since 2022, while domestic debt has been substantially reduced. This fiscal discipline has underwritten confidence in governance and set a rare example of economic prudence among sub-national governments in Nigeria.
Furthermore, Ekiti’s budget transparency and civil service reforms have earned acknowledgment from independent observers, situating the state among the top performers nationwide in accountability and expenditure oversight.
Governor Oyebanji’s administration has placed physical infrastructure at the core of its developmental matrix.
From major road rehabilitation projects connecting all three senatorial districts, to the completion and operationalisation of the Agro-Allied Cargo Airport and bus terminal, these projects have not only eased mobility but also laid connective tissue for economic expansion and market access across rural and urban communities.
In a strategic redirection of service delivery, healthcare has emerged as a defining achievement under BAO’s watch.
Medical infrastructure has experienced a comprehensive uplift: rehabilitation of health facilities, construction of emergency centres in all local governments, and targeted upgrades including the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital as a higher-capacity referral centre.
Crucially, policies such as hazard allowances, salary adjustments, systemic CONMESS and CONHESS implementation, and recruitment of health personnel have created safer, more dignified working conditions that renew confidence among frontline workers.
Governor Oyebanji has anchored investment in education as a long-term national asset. His administration has rehabilitated over 1,000 classrooms, invested in digital learning infrastructure like the Smart School initiative, and supported tens of thousands of students through examination fee subsidies and stipend-backed bursary schemes.
This investment in human capital, particularly through teacher recruitment and vocational training schemes, illustrates an understanding that sustainable progress is as much about minds as it is about material infrastructure.
Beyond physical infrastructure, Oyebanji’s focus on economic empowerment reflects a bold shift toward a more inclusive state economy. Initiatives like:
Ekiti Youth Economic Empowerment Programme (E-YEEP) — offering grants, skills training, and business support;
Agricultural support programs that link youth and farmers to tools, credit, and markets;
…all underscore an evolving ecosystem of local enterprise and agribusiness potential.
Arguably one of the most emotional and analytically significant achievements of Oyebanji’s administration has been the restoration of workers’ trust and welfare, especially among local government workers — a group historically marginalized in past administrations.
Fiscal reform first met human redemption when BAO’s government cleared months of salary arrears and unpaid deductions owed to teachers and local government staff. This wasn’t bureaucracy — it was restoration of dignity.
The introduction of a ₦70,000 minimum wage, consequential adjustments for salary bands, payment of long-delayed CONMESS and CONHESS allowances, and retroactive bonuses are tangible acknowledgements of workers’ essential roles.
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These measures positioned Ekiti among the highest wage-paying states in the Southwest, triggering an unprecedented wave of workforce confidence and loyalty.
Worker welfare has extended into non-monetary dimensions — official vehicles, modern office complexes, and improved working conditions permeate the local government service environment. These elements signal an emotional investment in public servants, affirming that their service is valued and their contribution appreciated.
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Cultural and Tourism Renaissance::
One of the most lyrical aspects of Oyebanji’s reign is the transformation of Ekiti into a tourism and cultural destination.
At the Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ekiti State was honoured as the Most Active Tourism Destination, while Governor Oyebanji was named Best Tourism Governor — a recognition that reflects strategic policy, cultural reclamation, and global visibility.
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From revitalising Ikogosi Warm Springs to mobilising local communities around cultural heritage sites, tourism has become a bridge between identity, economy, and pride — connecting Ekiti to Nigeria’s broader socio-cultural narratives.
As Oyebanji embarks on a second term, expectations are anchored less in rhetoric and more in measurable promise:
Institutional sustainability — ensuring reforms endure beyond individual tenure;
Job creation at scale, especially for youths and women;
Augmented social services, including expanding healthcare and educational equity;
Inclusive digital economy strategies that leverage Ekiti’s human capital and diaspora networks;
Deepened agricultural value chains that position Ekiti as a national food security hub;
Enhanced tourism commercialization that cements Ekiti’s continental brand beyond awards.
In essence, the second term is not a reset — it’s a continuum of transformation rooted in the foundations laid during the first.
In the poetry of governance, Oyebanji’s administration reads like a carefully composed stanza — balancing heartbeat with hard facts, emotion with economy, and vision with verifiable delivery.
His achievements map a trajectory that moves from recovery (clearing arrears, stabilising economy) to revitalisation (infrastructure and human development), and now to reimagination — where Ekiti is being seen not as a periphery, but as a state of promise.
While no governance is without critique or complexity, the narrative emerging from Ekiti under BAO is one of shared prosperity, structural renewal, and inclusive hope — a legacy that future historians may well regard as a turning point in the state’s modern story.
