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| Gov. Abiodun Oyebanji |
Ekiti State Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji begins his historic second term with a clear shift in emphasis. After four years spent laying physical foundations—roads, electricity connections, farm access, and the long-awaited agro-allied cargo airport—the administration now prioritises industrialisation, value addition in agriculture, support for small businesses, and the creation of an enabling environment that turns infrastructure into jobs, higher incomes, and broader prosperity.
In a wide-ranging interview with selected journalists shortly after his inauguration, Oyebanji framed the next four years as the productivity phase of his “shared prosperity” agenda. The landslide re-election that delivered him approximately 85 per cent of the votes (319,224 votes against the nearest rival’s 40,543) has, in his words, imposed “a great responsibility.” That mandate arrives against a backdrop of measurable economic gains: Ekiti’s GDP rose from about ₦2.4 trillion in 2019 to ₦4.6 trillion in 2023, with recent projections approaching ₦8.8 trillion and an improved national ranking from 33rd to 28th. Trade and agriculture together account for roughly 60 per cent of output, giving the state a comparative advantage that the governor intends to deepen through processing rather than primary production alone.
Infrastructure Foundations and the Persistent Challenges of Urban Growth and Water
Oyebanji does not pretend the first-term work is finished. Township roads remain a priority; nearly 80 kilometres are being reactivated even as a broader state master plan is developed. Ado-Ekiti continues to expand rapidly, bringing familiar growing pains.
Recent flooding, the governor argued, was largely man-made. Despite regular dredging of waterways, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and construction on drainage paths have created new risks. He has directed the Ministry of Environment to inventory every structure built on waterways. Buildings that obstruct flow will be removed. Those with formal approvals may attract compensation where applicable; illegal structures will simply “have to go.”
The decision, he acknowledged, will generate complaints, but he insisted it is necessary to prevent worse disasters.
Water supply presents a more systemic puzzle. Ekiti is not short of raw water. Four major dams function, and World Bank support has aided rehabilitation. Pumps and generators have been replaced. Yet old asbestos distribution pipes, high diesel costs for continuous 24–26-hour pumping to fill reservoirs, meter bypasses, and illegal underground connections continue to frustrate reliable delivery.
The second-term programme centres on systematic pipe replacement and the establishment of community water consumers’ committees to improve accountability and reduce wastage. Power reliability and cost recovery remain the binding constraints.
By the end of 2026 the administration expects to have delivered close to 400 kilometres of roads. First-term figures already include more than 285 kilometres of inter-city and intra-city roads (including a 1.2 km flyover) plus 132 kilometres of rural roads under the World Bank-assisted Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).
These investments reduced travel times, linked farmers to markets, and opened previously isolated communities to electricity. The next phase, Oyebanji stressed, is ensuring those assets raise productivity rather than merely improve mobility.
Industrialisation: Enabling Private Capital Rather Than Building Factories
Stakeholders have pressed for concrete industrial targets. Oyebanji’s response is deliberate: government does not itself establish factories; it creates the conditions under which private capital thrives. “Capital will flow to any place where it is treated well,” he said. Reforms already underway include ease-of-doing-business improvements that have ranked Ekiti highly in recent assessments, land administration overhaul, tax streamlining, and the creation of a one-stop shop for investors.
Agriculture is the clearest entry point. The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone has attracted significant private commitments. Agbeyewa Farms operates what has been described as one of the largest cassava plantations in the country (and potentially the world), with thousands of hectares under cultivation, yields reportedly reaching 32–35 tonnes per hectare, and ambitions to expand further through partnerships with the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA). Arog Bio Agro-Allied and other processors are active in the zone. The African Development Bank has classified Ekiti as a Tier-2 state under the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programme; studies on Itapaji Dam for irrigation are underway. Road contracts, including the Ayetoro–Iyemero corridor, are intended to open these production areas.
The governor’s vision is straightforward: farmers should produce at scale with reliable off-takers, and more of Ekiti’s agricultural output should leave the state as finished or intermediate products rather than raw commodities. Parallel support for micro, small and medium enterprises—welders, tailors, hairdressers, barbers and similar operators—will come through affordable finance.
Free Corporate Affairs Commission registration has already reached thousands of MSMEs; credit and grant programmes have disbursed hundreds of millions of naira. The 2027 budget, presented as the “Budget of Sustained Progress and Prosperity,” allocates the largest share of capital expenditure to the economic sector, signalling continuity of this direction.
A longer-term 30-year blueprint unveiled around the state’s anniversary projects an innovation- and knowledge-driven economy by 2056, with the planned Ekiti Knowledge Zone complementing the agro-processing focus. Aviation and tourism are additional diversification bets.
Airport as Economic Enabler and the Push for Affordable Transport
The Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, which began commercial operations in late 2025 after cumulative state investment approaching ₦50 billion, is central to the productivity agenda. An Instrument Landing System is undergoing certification; lighting infrastructure for night operations has been contracted. A private-sector fuel depot is being commissioned, allowing aircraft to refuel in Ekiti and making the airport more attractive to operators. Round-the-clock capability is the target. The facility is expected to support agricultural exports, reduce logistics costs, and attract related services.
Urban and inter-town transportation remains a daily burden for residents facing high fares. Oyebanji rejected any approach that would simply displace existing road transport operators who themselves carry loan obligations on their vehicles. Instead, the government is running a pilot mass-transit scheme to test impact. Longer-term solutions centre on Compressed Natural Gas and electric vehicles, which require conversion centres, refuelling or charging infrastructure, and eventual roll-out that includes tricycles and motorcycles. Fair competition, not displacement, is the stated principle.
Gender, Security and the Continuity of Shared Prosperity
The administration retains a gender policy that Oyebanji insists must remain a living document. Priorities include eliminating discrimination, tackling female genital mutilation and domestic violence, and improving market access and business conditions for women traders. Stakeholder engagement will continue.
On security the governor was characteristically measured: “Security is not something I like to discuss openly in detail.” He offered assurance of sustained effort to protect lives and property without public elaboration of operational measures.
Context, Constraints and the Test Ahead
Oyebanji’s first term occurred against national economic headwinds—high inflation, currency pressures and fiscal constraints familiar across Nigerian states. Internally generated revenue growth, fiscal transparency rankings (top position for multiple consecutive quarters in BudgIT assessments), and the peaceful conduct of the 2026 election have strengthened the administration’s political capital. The second term will be judged less on kilometres of road or number of projects commissioned and more on whether those investments translate into factory floors, processing plants, thriving small businesses, reliable water, lower transport costs, and measurable improvements in household livelihoods.
The governor’s own metric is productivity.
Infrastructure without economic activity, he has repeatedly argued, cannot lift people sustainably out of poverty. By concentrating on agro-industrial value chains, ease of doing business, SME finance, airport functionality and gradual transport modernisation, the administration is attempting to close that gap. Success will depend on execution—pipe replacement programmes that actually deliver water, investor facilitation that shortens approval times, off-taker arrangements that protect farmers from price collapse, and energy solutions that make CNG and electric vehicles practical rather than aspirational.
For a state that has historically punched below its intellectual and agricultural potential, the second-term agenda represents both continuity and a decisive pivot. The foundations are largely in place. The harder work of converting them into shared prosperity has now begun.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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