…Reaffirm support for Governor’s re-election

… I Shall Respond to Detractors on June 20th, says Oyebanji

Workers in Ekiti State have assured Governor Biodun Oyebanji of their readiness to mobilise more than 500,000 votes for him in the June 20 governorship election as a demonstration of their appreciation for his administration’s worker-friendly policies and improved welfare for workers in the State.

The workers, in their thousands, staged a “thank you walk” to the Governor’s Office in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday as part of activities marking this year’s May Day celebration, drawing participation from civil servants across various MDAs, and workers in all affiliate unions of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Speaking at the Governor’s Office, where the walk terminated, the NLC Chairman in Ekiti State, Comrade Kolapo Olatunde, described Governor Oyebanji as a worker-friendly leader who has consistently demonstrated genuine commitment to the welfare of workers. He said the administration’s prompt payment of salaries, deductions, pensions, and gratuity alongside other labour-friendly reforms, has restored confidence in the public service.

The NLC Chairman further stated that that Ekiti workers got a good deal during the minimum wage negotiations courtesy of the Governor, in addition to other interventions on behalf of the workforce. For these reasons, he said workers in the State have resolved to mobilize themselves and their family members to ensure that the Governor secured over 500,000 votes in the June 20 gubernatorial election .

He maintained that the decision was a collective one aimed at expressing their gratitude for the administration’s consistent responsiveness to workers’ needs and its commitment to improving their welfare.

Comrade Kolapo maintained that the era of workers staying indoors to monitor elections over the radio was over; stressing that Ekiti workers will moblise their families and friends to vote massively for Governor Oyebanji, adding that the Governor had restored confidence in governance through his consistent engagement with workers and visible commitment to their welfare as well as in the areas of infrastructure and human capital development.

According to the NLC Chairman “workers now feel directly involved in the democratic process because of the administration’s responsiveness, transparency, and people-oriented policies geared towards workers’ welfare. We have chose to repay the governor with our votes.”

Addressing the workers, Governor Oyebanji expressed his profound appreciation for the overwhelming show of support from the workers, describing it as unprecedented in the history of the state.

He described the workers’ gesture as a strong motivation to do more for the people of the State, noting that the gesture reflects the growing trust between government and the workforce, which he said remains a key pillar of his administration’s development agenda.

The Governor, however, urged the workers to direct their gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating an enabling environment for states to meet their obligations to workers and the citizens.

Reiterating his administration’s commitment to sustaining policies that improve welfare of workers, Governor Oyebanji said whatever he has done for the workers was within their right, as well as part of his duties as the Governor. He added that his administration intends to do much more for them in terms of welfare.

He thanked the workers for their demonstrated support for his administration, and for their commitment towards his re-election for a second term.

The Governor noted that elections are not won on social media or by political noise, but by tangible achievements that directly impact on the lives of the people, stressing that he remained focused on delivering results that will speak for themselves when the time comes.

Oyebanji said he had chosen to concentrate efforts on delivering quality service to the people, while ignoring social media distractions, adding that the June 20 governorship election result would be his response to distractors and social media noisemakers.

The Governor said “let me start by expressing my gratitude and appreciation to all of you for coming out this morning, I am humbled and this is extremely emotional for me because this is the first time this will happen in this state.

“My charge to you this morning is that, all those achievements you have listed, the credit after God, goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because he is the one that has enabled us and provided us with the resources. Through his bold reforms and I am happy that your caps are bearing “workers voice for President Tinubu”

“Let me also use this medium to appeal to all the contestants in the forthcoming election, to play by the rule. As far as we are concerned in my party, we have pledged before God and the people that our campaign will be issue-based and that is why you will not see me respond to all the shenanigans on the social media because is not necessary, we are going to respond once and for all and that will be June 20. For all the wailers on the social media, June 20 is our response”.

Also In her remarks, the Head of Service, Dr Folakemi Olomojobi expressed appreciation on behalf of workers to the Governor for his worker-friendly programmes and policies which have improved the living condition of workers across board.

Dr Olomojobi said the workers decided to turn out in large numbers to say thank you to the Governor for his three and a half years of remarkable progress, prosperity and compassionate leadership which has resulted in pay parity, minimum wage, regular payment of salary, payment of leave bonuses as well as promotion arrears which have since been cleared.

Dressed in white t-shirts and caps, the workers marched from the terminal, at New Garage to the Governor’s office at Oke Bareke, distributing leaflets that detailed the Governor’s key achievements.

A fresh political contest is brewing in Ekiti South Senatorial District as former lawmaker Biodun Olujimi has officially picked up the All Progressives Congress (APC) nomination form, signaling a major shift in the district’s political landscape.

Olujimi, who represented Ekiti South in the 9th Senate under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defected to the APC in 2025.

Her decision to now seek the party’s senatorial ticket sets the stage for a high-stakes intra-party battle ahead of the next general election.

The race within the APC is shaping up to be fiercely competitive, as Olujimi will contend with incumbent senator and Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu, who is seeking to retain his seat.

Also in the contest is former member of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Faparusi, who has likewise obtained the party’s nomination form.

Political observers say Olujimi’s entry into the race could significantly alter the dynamics within the APC in Ekiti South, given her political experience, grassroots network, and previous electoral success in the district.

Her defection from the PDP to the ruling APC had earlier generated discussions across the state, and her latest move is expected to intensify permutations within the party.

The contest is likely to test the internal cohesion of the APC in Ekiti State, as party leaders weigh the strengths of the aspirants ahead of the primaries.

Analysts also note that the emergence of a strong candidate could play a crucial role in determining the party’s chances of retaining the senatorial seat in the next election cycle.

With three prominent political figures now in the race, the APC primary in Ekiti South is expected to be closely watched, as it may redefine alliances and influence the broader political direction of the district.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to provide necessary publicity for all the programmes and policies of President Bola Tinubu that have improved the living conditions of the people, especially his economic reforms, infrastructure development and efforts being made to stabilize the country.

Governor Oyebanji said hyping the achievements of the President at every opportunity by leaders of the party will provide the needed enlightenment for the people, especially at the grassroots. This, he said, will make the people value the government’s programmes and policies and further endear the President to Nigerians.

The Governor, who spoke when he received the APC Zonal executives led by the Zonal Chairman/National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Dr Isaac Kekemeke in his office on Tuesday, said it is apparent Nigerians attach more seriousness to whatever they hear from their leaders than from other sources.

He stressed the need to activate the party’s structure at all levels to serve as information desk for members and the populace informing them of various laudable programmes and projects of the administration.

The Governor, who described the six months he spent in office before the inauguration of President Tinubu in 2023 as “very tough period”, said the President’s decision to immediately free resources to the sub-national as a way of improving and rescuing the economy from collapse, turned the situation around, making him to achieve more for the state I terms of infrastructure development.

“The story is the same across the states. President Tinubu’s programmes and policies have impacted positively on the people and while the opposition element would do everything to rubbish the gains of the reforms, leaders should counter them with verifiable facts”.

Citing Ekiti State as an example, the Governor said out of the six federal roads in Ekiti State, two have been fixed, work had commenced on one and two have been been awarded. He also revealed that the state has been linked to the new rail line project of the federal government.

He also said that his administration had not collected any loan to finance infrastructure projects in the last three and a half years, explaining that he has been able to properly utilize receipts from the federal allocation and state’s IGR to finance all projects. This, according to him , was made possible by President Tinubu, hence the need to support him for a second term in office.

“So, if a state as small as Ekiti has this kind of federal government presence, then you can imagine what will happen to other big states in the country. Please, we have every cause to be proud of the achievements of our party and the only way we can get this done is through you, because you are the closest to the people at the grassroots level. What are we talking about is that at every ward meeting, two or three minutes should be devoted to explaining to party members what the government has done.

“Our party is on a rescue mission, generally, through the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, we are all ambassadors of the President in our respective zones and states and I will use this opportunity to appeal to our party leaders from this zone to make explaining the achievements of the President’s administrations to everybody paramount. And because you are credible leaders, people will listen to you more than those in government.

Earlier, the National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Dr Isaac Kekemeke who commended Governor Oyebanji for the successful outing at the official flag off of his re-election campaign, described him as an emerging party and national leader based on his pedigree of humility and astute leadership quality and by positioning himself as a unifying force.

He said they were in the state for their first executive meeting after their inauguration last month.

While reiterating their unalloyed support for all APC governors in the South-west, Dr Kekemeke, stressed that the zonal leadership intends to strengthen the party’s structure in the region.