Ekiti Plans Food Surplus, Bad Roads’ Repairs In 2025 

As consultation with residents for the 2025 budget begins, Ekiti State has unveiled plans for food surplus and repairs of roads including federally owned roads to ease intra and inter-state transportation.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji said his administration has started providing alternative routes on state roads for motorists to ply to ease inter-state transportation and cultivating over 5,000 hectares of land for farming in the 2025 season to eliminate food scarcity and spiralling increase in the prices of food commodities in the state.

Oyebanji spoke on Thursday, during a Citizens’ Engagement/Town Hall Meeting with stakeholders, held in Aramoko and Ilawe Ekiti for Ekiti Central and South Senatorial Districts respectively, in preparation for the 2025 budget of Ekiti State at an event was graced by critical stakeholders like traditional rulers, politicians, public servants, Local Government Chairmen, youth groups, market men and women, drivers, religious leaders, people living with disabilities, among others.

To resolve the bedlam associated with the deplorable federal roads in the state, Oyebanji declared that state roads identified as comfortable alternatives were being awarded for reconstruction, and those yet to be touched will be captured in the 2025 budgetary provisions.

Oyebanji underscores the significance of the consultation, saying the government would undertake aggressive works in agriculture, infrastructure, arts and culture, tourism, job creation, entertainment industry, security and payment of salaries to expand the scope of shared prosperity plans.

“I thank God that since I came on board, I have stayed connected with our people, which is part of what we are doing today. Though we are in government, we may not know all our problems, so this interaction is necessary. When we wanted votes, we came to you. Nothing should stop us from coming to interact with you”.

He said the state government has not been able to reconstruct or undertake palliative work on some federal roads, because such money won’t be refunded but promised synergy with federal lawmakers to ensure that those roads are captured in the 2025 budget.

“I assure you that the Ado-Ijan Road has been captured in the 2024 budget, soon the contractor will be mobilised to the site. But it remains that of Ado-Aramoko-Ita Ore road. All these will be done, but the federal government can only do one road this year.

“We are going to create alternative roads by making sure that some state roads that can serve as better alternatives are made motorable. We have provided alternative roads to Ibadan or Akure. Let our people continue to use these roads until the situation improves”, Oyebanji said.

Highlighting the inclusion policy of his administration, Governor Oyebanji warned parents against locking any child suffering any form of disability at home, urging them to surrender such wards to the government for proper care and monitoring in the special schools and special centres well equipped for that purpose.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Development, Oyeniyi Adebayo, in his presentation, revealed that consultation is an integral part of budget preparation and leeway to interact with communities and groups to deepen open governance policy that can benefit the grassroots and society.

At the event, all the representatives of the communities articulated and submitted their demands, lauding Governor Oyebanji for the interactions and commending the government for the implementation of the demands contained in the 2023 and 2024 budgets.