WHEN OYEBANJI’S BENEFICIARIES SPOKE LOUD AND CLEAR IN ABUJA
The BAO Impact Series No. 17
BY ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA
The submission of the governorship Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms by Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) at the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretariat in Abuja earlier in the week demonstrated how much he was loved by his people at home.
What would otherwise have been a quiet event was turned to a carnival by admirers and supporters of the Governor cutting across party lines and various interest groups who have benefitted immensely from the good governance deeply entrenched in Ekiti State, the Land of Honour.
It was a show of unprecedented loyalty, support and solidarity for a governorship re-election project they so much believe in which was driven by their conviction that Ekiti as a state stands to reap a bountiful harvest in keeping BAO in office beyond 2026.
They came to show support and make a statement that Ekiti is unique, progressive, moving forward and raising the bar in good and purposeful governance. Anybody who believes in the development, progress and prosperity of the state and was privileged to be present at the event would feel proud to be identified with Ekiti.
Naysayers, opponents and critics of BAO may want to dismiss the Abuja spectacle as a mere partisan gathering that is normal during election season but there are lessons to be learnt from the event by all whether they are politically inclined or not.
First, it shows that people appreciates good governance and leadership. Second, trust, love and loyalty to a leader are earned and not enforced. Third, when a leader does well, the people he leads will be happy and they will ever ready to defend and identify with him anywhere, any day and anytime.
The impact made by Governor Oyebanji in the last three years reverberated in faraway Abuja and resonated with individuals who are not from Ekiti State and who do not reside in the state. I am talking of the national leadership of the APC and other eminent guests who graced the occasion.
One of the images that would always live in the memory of those present at the event was the unprecedented solidarity shown by some segments of the population in Ekiti who did not just followed Governor Oyebanji there but also used the occasion to trumpet his good deeds to the hearing of outsiders.
These are interest groups like the organized labour, market women, representatives of the youth, students, women, the elderly, the alumni association, among others. They came, they spoke and they were heard loud and clear by the members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC).
These are the people who reside in Ekiti, who work in Ekiti, who trade in Ekiti, who study in in Ekiti and they are the beneficiaries of the good governance going on in the state. They are not ingrates, the submission of the nomination forms by their leader offered them a rare opportunity to market the good product they believe would sell on election day.
The youths led by Maxwell Olu Ajayi said they came to show solidarity with the Governor because he has proven to be a capable leader who cares for them and meets their needs. According to Ajayi, “Ekiti youths have seen a leader they want to grow with and a mentor they want to follow.”
Ajayi used the occasion to tell anybody who cares to listen that BAO has used his administration’s immense investment in agriculture to lift many youths out of poverty and given them a means of livelihood and have given them inclusion in governance by appointing many of them into enviable governmental positions.
To the students, whose views were conveyed by their spokesperson, Owolewa Taiwo, BAO is a leader that commands the respect of the student community in the state because of what he has done for the education sector in the state.
Owolewa told the gathering that BAO has increased the subvention to the state-owned tertiary institutions, increased scholarships, increased bursaries to Ekiti students and has taken care of their welfare very well.
Besides, Owolewa further revealed that infrastructure development of the campuses of the state-owned tertiary institutions is too notch under BAO as he has provided more hostels for students and more good road network on the campuses.
Improved workers’ welfare was another notable achievement of BAO that was showcased before the APC NWC as the Labour in the state blew it loud and clear that the Governor remains the preferred candidate of the workers in the forthcoming party primary and the main governorship election.
The Organized Labour from Ekiti made up of members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and prominent affiliates like Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), among others declared that workers in the state have signed up for BAO and will vote massively for his candidacy.
The state NLC Chairman, Comrade Kolapo Olatunde, who spoke on their behalf described BAO as a Governor who prioritizes workers’ welfare and has made life easier for them hence their unanimous decision to throw their weight behind him in the Ekiti governorship race.
Olatunde revealed that BAO has defrayed all outstanding arrears of workers’ entitlements he met on ground, paid N70,000 minimum wage “which he signed into law without reduction,” ensures prompt payment of salaries to workers, pensions and gratuities to retirees.
The NLC chief revealed that last December, BAO signed N3.5 billion gratuities, the single largest payment at once in the history of the state, increased the subvention of state-owned tertiary institutions twice since coming to office and has paid 100 per cent CONHESS to health workers. “We are giving him 100 percent support, BAO must continue till 2030,” Olatunde concluded.
These are some views of few of the interest groups who have spoken to the APC national leaders on the need to hand the party’s ticket to BAO not by mouth only but by the impact he has made in the last three years which has positively turned around the fortunes of citizens and residents of Ekiti State.
Definitely, BAO’s works are speaking for him not only within Ekiti State but far beyond the boundaries of the Land of Honour. Victory at the APC primary on October 27, 2025 and the main election on June 20, 2025 are in the horizon.
Ogunmola is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media (Print Media)