The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has assured that Governor Biodun Oyebanji was on the right track of governance without breaking any of the promises he made to the citizenry during his campaign for the gubernatorial election.
This was conveyed through a release signed by the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Segun Dipe, where he assured that it’s “so far, so good” and every well-meaning Ekiti son and daughter is happy with the governor.
The party said what Governor Oyebanji deserved at this stage from all and sundry was praise, not undue criticism in the name of playing politics, having ensured that the expectations of the people in terms of the dividends of democracy were being met.
“Governor Oyebanji is not the bragging type. He would rather walk his talk and allow his work to speak about the efforts he’s putting up to ensure that the people were not suffering any lack, than to keep gallivanting about and giving reasons instead of results.
“Our party is very happy with our governor and we know all the citizens of Ekiti equally are. We will continue to give him the necessary political backing in steering the ship of our dear state well and making our people have a sense of belonging in his government,” he said.
While reacting to the allegations levied against the governor by a splinter group in the opposition People’s Democratic Party that the latter was merely paying salaries and patching roads as palliatives, Dipe said the inconsequential group was only crying wolf where there was none and trying to draw undeserved attention to itself.
He added, “Knowing their allegations were spurious without basis, they still went ahead to levy them, thinking that would earn them undue pity. This is disastrous for them and their party.
“Take for instance, they said all that the governor was doing was paying salaries and patching roads. Well, they must have deliberately forgotten what governance is about, deliberately ignoring what BAO is doing to other infrastructures, deliberately taking their eyes away from the attention he is paying to the real sectors, such as agriculture, health, education and so on. They are mindless of the feelings of the people who are now feeling relaxed with BAO and trusting their well-being in the governor’s hand. We are re-directing their focus to the knowledge zone, the various urban renewal projects, the teachers welfare, the local government staff and other workers welfare, people getting a new lease of life, as well as the various consultations being made by the governor. If these are not effects of good governance, then what are they?
“We are challenging the group of dissidents within the opposition party to mention the sector that is being neglected by the governor or the action wrongly taken by the governor to warrant their bellyaching. That to us will be taken as genuine criticism.”
“They also grumbled that the governor delayed completion of the appointment process as if any law had been broken.
“Need we remind them that Governor Oyebanji had hitherto made some appointments, comprising three commissioners and nine Special Advisers, just one month in office in November 2022? These ones were duly screened by the last House and the State Executive meeting has been happening as statutorily required ever since then. The fact that the governor did not complete the process until now does not amount to fouling any law.
“As a matter of fact, it was a decision taken by our party, APC, that we would rather hold on with the remaining appointments till after the presidential, national and state assembly elections, so our people could jointly concentrate on those elections and not heap the load on the appointees. Also, it was decided that the new House of Assembly should be the one to screen the new commissioners and advisers. Now that the house is settling down, it becomes their first major business and the governor has forwarded the list to them. The naysayers didn’t take the pain to cross-check this before going out to cry wolf where there’s none.”
APC said the unrecognised PDP group was only making their party look anti-people the more, and being seen as approbating and reprobating at the same time.
“Some high-profiled members of the same PDP are giving kudos to governor Oyebanji for taking the right steps in the right direction. They keep saying he is the best governor for Ekiti at this point and he is living up to the billing. Finding non-existing fault by this other group runs counter to what their leaders are seeing and is thus condemnable.
“Their undue criticism could be counter-productive for the revival of their party, as they would be charting an unpopular course away from the people, which would further lead them to the abyss, Dipe said, adding that they and others still in their league of selfish cynics could still be relevant by giving praises where they are due and genuinely confessing to the people of Ekiti that Mr. Governor’s work is praise-worthy.”
The alternative, according to the APC publicist, was for the PDP goons to remain silent and be taken as wise, rather than talk and remove all doubts that they are not.
