From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji has expressed delight with the giant leap of the state’s economy with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) heading towards an impressive N8.8 trillion mark.
The governor also declared that he has kept faith with the social contract he signed with the citizens in 2022 through entrenchment of enduring participatory democracy and by revving up the pedal of development across the strategic areas of the economy to enhance the welfare of the populace.
He promised to leverage the gains of the past four years to jumpstart the economy, saying his government will be pushing hard in the actualisation of his dreams in the areas of agriculture, industrialisation and knowledge-based economy.
Speaking on Tuesday while delivering the annual State of the State Address at the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Ado-Ekiti, the governor noted that his administration has attracted investment worth several billions of naira and has also presided over an unprecedented leap in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
According to him, the positive revenue outlook from both Federal Allocation and the Internally Generated Revenue has positively impacted budget performance tremendously while the superlative economic turnaround has been acknowledged by Federal Government agencies, development partners and non-governmental budget and financial transparency watchdogs.
The governor explained that figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Ekiti has the lowest inflationary rate on food prices. This, he attributed to the administration’s aggressive mobilisation of youths into agriculture and the setting up of the State-owned Enterprise named Ilu Eye Aggregation and Trading Company Limited and “Ounje Ekiti” retail outlet.
While restating the objective of his administration to make food accessible, available and affordable, the governor said his administration is presently retailing garri, beans and rice that are produced in Ekiti to the citizens, and arrangements are in place to open the outlets in other LG headquarters.
Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt Hon Adeoye Aribasoye, lauded the governor for giving the people of the state impactful four years and for making the state legislature part of the success story within the last four years.
This year’s State of the State Address, which is an annual public accountability interaction with the state legislators in line with the extant law, was the last to be delivered by Governor Oyebanji and was witnessed by House of Assembly Speakers of Jigawa, Rt Hon Haruna Dangyatin; Benue, Rt Hon Alfred Emberga and Sokoto, Rt Hon Tukur Bodinga.
Governor Oyebanji disclosed that a sum of N11.7 billion has been disbursed as gratuities to 3,642 state pensioners while a sum of N36.6 billion as monthly pensions to state pensioners from October 2022 to August 2026. He added that his administration has also cleared pension arrears for July to September 2018 amounting to N1.140 billion.
The governor revealed that N7.78 billion was disbursed to 2,659 beneficiaries while N35.7 billion has been paid to 11,524 local government retirees as monthly pension.
Giving account of the giant strides recorded in the state economy, Oyebanji who substantiated his claim with statistics from NBS showed that the overall state GDP which moved from 2.4 trillion in 2019 to 4.6 trillion in 2023 is now poised to reach an unprecedented N8.8 trillion mark.
He said: “The economy of Ekiti State continues to hold an exciting promise in all ramifications. A quick summary of Ekiti’s GDP performance from the recently released NBS Report indicates that the overall State GDP moved from 2.4 trillion in 2019 to 4.6 trillion in 2023, a growth of 90%. Recent projection suggests that Ekiti GDP now inches towards N8.8 trillion mark.”
“This has moved Ekiti from the 33rd position to the 28th since APC was given the mandate to govern the state. Similarly, our contribution to the national GDP grew from 1.3% to 1.6%. Apparently, our economy is largely driven by trade which contributed 1.7 trillion (37%) and agriculture which contributed 1.05 trillion (23%). Both sectors contribute 60% to the state’s economy.”
“It is for this reason that we have intentionally given more attention to trade, investment and agriculture since they have proved to be area of our comparative advantage. With our deliberate investment in aviation and tourism, we hope to further diversify our economic base in the new tenure.”
Reporting on the significant strides in the area of revenue generation, Oyebanji said: “Mr Speaker and Honourable members, I am pleased to also inform you that due to a lot of innovative ideas, administrative autonomy and strategies that we adopted, the monthly internally generated revenue of the State has seen a significant upward improvement.”
“When we took over in 2022, the average Internally Generated Revenue of the State hovered around N650 million to N700 million monthly, totalling N8.7 billion in 2022, by the end of 2023, it had surged to N12 billion. The trend continued in 2024 with a reconciled figure of N17.6 billion, 2025, we grossed N27.1 billion.”
“As at the last reconciliation in June this year, we have already attained N15.6 billion, with all indications that we would near the N32 billion mark at the end year, as we currently do average of N2.6 billion monthly. The growth per year indicated 38% in 2023, 47% in 2024, 53% in 2025 and about 60% in 2026. Cumulatively speaking, we have generated the sum of N88.4 billion as IGR in the last four years.”
“The independent data from the Joint Revenue Board confirmed that 2025 was an exceptional year for Ekiti State’s revenue administration. The State grew Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by 62.13%, faster than any other State in the South-West and faster than 26 other States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”
“We increased our share of the national Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and now fund a third of our total expenditure from our IGR. We hope to maintain this momentum going forward.”
“All of this is possible because of the impact of the institutional reorganisation, digital transformation of tax administration, expansion of the tax net and improved business environment.”
In his remarks, the Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Adeoye Aribasoye, hailed the strong working relationship that exists between the Executive and the Legislature which has resulted in good governance, enactment of laws that have added value to the State and made the wheel of the state to move towards progress.
Aribasoye noted that democracy thrives when executive and legislative arms operate not as rivals but as partners and trustees of the mandate freely given to them by the electorate. He commended the governor for delivering a state-of-the-art and ultramodern Assembly complex.
The Speaker used the forum to commend the governor for what he described as his legacies and milestones in the state legislature notably the digitisation of the operations of the arm of government, the global recognition the Assembly now has and the welfare of the staff.
The State of the State Address was attended by the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye; the First Lady, Prof Olayemi Oyebanji; the State Chief Judge, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye who was represented by Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi; Secretary to the State Government, Prof Habibat Adubiaro; Chief of Staff, Mr Oyeniyi Adebayo; former Deputy Governor, Prof Modupe Adelabu; former Speakers, former Deputy Speakers, party leaders and traditional rulers.
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