Ahead of the off-cycle gubernatorial election in Ekiti State in 2026, the Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanjispeak to Tope Omogbolagun On a range of issues on governance, politics, women in leadership, agriculture and the future of the state. Part:
Apparently, this is the first time that we will have a consensus arrangement in the APC where all tendencies within the party are saying it has to be you. How did you achieve this?
Well, thank you very much, and before I answer that question, once again, thank you for the honor of your presence in Ekiti State. I'm glad you are here to see for yourself what we have been able to do in three years.
What happened today is historical. In the history of this state, we as a state are 29 years old, and no democratically elected government has been able to achieve such a feat. It has never happened that a government has succeeded on its own. So, by the grace of God, if we win in June next year, we will be the first government to run back-to-back.
We have had governors who have served two terms, but usually they lose the election, leave and then return to office.
And this has been a curse to our development because there are always policy cuts.
When a government comes, it abandons the previous plans and policies. It will make its debut, and it will take four years; It will go away, and another government will come.
When we were fighting for this state, by providence, I was the Secretary of the Committee for the Creation of Ekiti State. I was a very young man then; I was 26 years old then. I worked with the founders of the state and I sat in on meetings with them. I know his desire for Ekiti; I know the vision of the founders of this state, and there is no politician in Ekiti State today who has the experience I have in public service.
Before becoming governor, I spent eleven years in public service. I started as a Senior Special Assistant, later became a Special Adviser, and later Chief of Staff to Governor Niyi Adebayo. We left in 2003, and then Dr. Kayode Fayemi came in 2010. Therefore, there was a gap of seven years. We came back in 2010 and I worked with Dr. Fayemi for four years.
I served in three different capacities; Commissioner for Integration and Intergovernmental Affairs; Head, Strategy and Service Delivery Office; and Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning. The government lost the elections again in 2014. In 2018, Dr. Fayemi came back, and I was appointed Secretary to the State Government.
So, I have seen governance very closely, and those two appointments as Chief of Staff and SSG led me to work very closely with both the Governors.
I have seen him take decisions and suffer the consequences. So, I cannot claim that I do not have experience when it comes to governance.
When I reached this seat, I told myself that he has made all these mistakes, I have to avoid them. This was intentional on my part.
I also found that the former governors did not have good relations with each other. When Governor Segun Oni was governor, we had a meeting in Ilupeju, and I said to him, “Your Excellency, why don’t you do something like a Council of State – like an association or a forum of former governors that meets quarterly?” He said he would do it, but he didn't.
I am going to do it in my second term. We are going to send a bill in the House of Assembly which will make it mandatory for any Governor to hold such a meeting once in a quarter.
Therefore, when I became the Governor, I made up my mind to live in peace with everyone. Governor Fayose did something that shocked me.
His party contested the elections against our party and the day I won, he called his party's candidate to congratulate me and asked him to also write a congratulatory letter and not go to court. He did exactly the same.
This same Kayode Ojo took me to court over pre-election matters; It went all the way to the Supreme Court. Eng. Segun Oni took me to court; It went all the way to the Supreme Court. For two years I kept going in and out of court. So, if Fayoz had added his own, I would have three cases. At one time, I had 35 court cases. So, I went up to him and said, “Why did you do that?” He said, “Look, I have matured now and I can rise above politics and become a politician. You deserve all the support you can get.”
Some people may ask how I maintain such good relations with all the former governors. I just respect him. If they want to meet me, I go to their house. I don't allow them to come to my office. I call them; I check on them. If they have any social functions I go there, that's all. But people believe that perhaps I am giving them money. No, it is not so. Even if you give money and you don't respect them, they will just take the money and not support you.
But now it has reached the point where I can pick up my phone and call Governor Fayose or call his wife. I have a similar relationship with them, and I have a similar relationship with their children. So, we are members of the same family and people are happy with it. We are able to plan our lives; People are able to sleep with both their eyes closed.
There is no tension in the city; There is no violence, and everyone is happy. The state is better for it. It's just mutual respect and understanding.
There has been a clamor in recent times for reserved seats for women in politics in general… What are your plans for women in Ekiti before 2027?
If you look at our record, we are one of the best in the country in terms of gender equality and affirmative action.
Today we have the highest number of women in the Legislative Assembly in the country. My deputy is a woman; My service chief is a woman; SSG is a woman; The Accountant General is a woman, and the Accountant General for Local Government is a woman.
We have a lot of women serving as councillors, vice-chairmen and chairpersons of local government councils.
Maybe one or two states can beat our record. This is the tradition that got me to the ground because my predecessor's wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, is a gender activist. Therefore, we have a strong structure to protect women's rights.
But it must go beyond political appointments and elected offices.
There are also places for people in the informal sector. We must ensure that we provide them with the resources to support their businesses and trades. There is a desk for affirmative action in every sector and department of the government. As far as reserved seats are concerned, you know it depends on the National Assembly. If I'm going to tell you the truth, it's going to be a little hard, but we must continue the conversation.
I have seen the progress your administration has made in road infrastructure and health. Given the rich land and potential of Ekiti, how are you implementing the same level of commitment to agriculture?
Agriculture is an area in which we have invested a lot and Mr. President has been supportive.
In the last one year, we have been able to pull 5,000 youth from the streets to the fields in 13 clusters across the state. We clear the land for them, give them improved plants, do tractorization, land preparation and development, and we also set up an aggregation company to buy from them.
We have now expanded it to create what we call the Renewed Hope Farm Hostel.
If you go to Ikere, I don't know why you don't check into one of them, the hostel is built as a hostel for men and women, with a security house, kitchen, common room, internet and DSTV for their comfort.
You can decide to stay on the farm for three to five days, and you won't miss anything in the city. We provide buses and security for all groups.
We are doing this in partnership with local government. This is something I am very proud of because there is no formal employment that can bring 5,000 people out on the streets at once. The Governor of Edo State, His Excellency Monday Okpebholo, will be here on Wednesday to inaugurate a road project and a dormitory. We have created six dormitories in six groups in the state. Our intention is to increase it to 16 because we have 16 local government areas. Presently the challenge they face is to travel to and from the farm every day, which is not good for them, but now they can sleep. They're making a lot of money and they're happy, and I'm very excited.
In answer to your first question on godfatherism, I think I have been lucky because in Ekiti State, we do not have a history of a predecessor dominating his successor. And you know why? Because we never had continuity.
How do you talk to a man who is not from your political party? The closest we had were Governor Niyi Adebayo and Governor Kayode Fayemi, not because they succeeded each other, but because Otunba Adebayo brought Dr. Fayemi to Ekiti.
Governor Adebayo left government in 2003, and Governor Fayemi did not arrive until 2010. As soon as Fayemi became governor, Adebayo left the state.
I was in that government; He did not come back. In fact, at one point, people were indicating that they were feuding, but when I asked him, he said, “Look, I have given you a man who can become governor, so why should I upset him?”
The same thing happened when he came back. I worked with Governor Fayemi as Secretary to the State Government. In fairness to him, when it comes to policy choices and everything, he doesn't bother me at all, except when I call him to ask for advice.
So, we don't have that problem. When he asked me to run, he did not give me any conditions.
Yes, there may be political interests in it, people go to them and ask to talk to me for appointments, but these are things you can manage.
I was telling the governors of Edo and Kogi yesterday that once I step down as governor, I will allow the next governor to do his job.
After suffering these hardships for eight years, one should go and rest.
This state is called the fountain of knowledge. How are you making sure the education matches that reputation?
Talking about education, we take pride in being one of the most educated states in the country. We have the highest number of PhDs per capita in the country.
There is no such house in the state where there is no PhD holder. But are we still that strong? No, to reverse this trend, we have decided to strike a balance between what you teach, how you teach and where you teach. What you teach reflects the currency of the curriculum, how current and relevant it is. How you teach reflects the functioning and well-being of teachers and staff. Where you teach implies an environment that is inviting and friendly?
Our policy in education addresses all those shortcomings, and we are doing so at the primary school level through UBEC. But we don't have that structure for our secondary schools. By the grace of God, in my second term, we will focus on secondary education because I am not happy with the state of our secondary schools.
You cannot have good primary schools and bad secondary schools. Once we strike a balance between content, welfare and environment, the results will be fine.
Having overcome the APC hurdles with the party ticket, are you worried that the opposition may derail your second term aspiration?
Politicians are incurably optimistic, but not me. People will say that Ekiti is becoming a one-party state, yes, but like you said, we have opposition. We look forward to hearing about their candidacies; Then we will know the deployment strategy. They do not have any candidate yet, but we will work until we win the election because the election will have an impact on the 2027 presidential election. Once their candidate comes forward, we will prepare a proper strategy to deal with him. But are we nervous? No, but we also won't be satisfied, and we won't believe it's an Eldorado. We will work till the last minute.
At the end of your tenure, where do you expect Ekiti to be?
We have a 30-year development plan which is an offshoot of our campaign manifesto. The growth plan sets out where we should be at the end of each year. By 2030, by the grace of God, we envision a state that will be economically prosperous; A state that will have industries, where people can live, work and invest. A safe state where the natives will feel proud to call themselves.
Our benchmark is the growth plan, and every year we benchmark ourselves against it. But now we will have to review it also.
