Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, claims he has a divine mandate to break the jinx of governors in the state only doing a single term and voted out till they come back at another cycle of election.
Oyebanji made this declaration when he submitted his expression of interest and nomination forms to seek nomination for second term at the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretariat in Abuja yesterday.
He appealed to the leadership of the party and other stakeholders to support him in winning the APC ticket and emerging victorious at next year’s governorship polls, thereby breaking that jinx.
Oyebanji assured that APC in Ekiti is united under his leadership and with the party’s support if he wins both the primary and main election, the 2027 polls will be a walk over for President Bola Tinubu and other candidates of the party.
“There’s a request we are pleading that we have come for and this is very dear to the heart of everybody from the Ekiti state. Since the creation of the Ekiti state, no governor has done a second term.
You know, they will go, they will come back. And this has hit us on the canvas. It has retarded the development of the state.
“If the people have chosen to come in this number, to plead with you, to help us remove this reproach from us as a state, we see it as a jinx that must be broken. We see it as a reproach that has retarded our growth as a state. We don’t want current gains to be reversed.
“We have absolute confidence in the ability of national leadership to conduct a free and fair primary. We also recognise the rights of anybody, a loyal party member, who is qualified to contest. I said so, loyal party member.
“The APC at national level should know, like you have said, this is precursor to 2027. In 2023, the APC election was the first to be declared throughout the country. And it was for 24 hours. And I was just less than six months in office. So if you can record an overwhelming increase within six months, you can now see what we will record after four years in office in 2027.
“We just wanted to come here to plead with you that the only thing that is standing against Ekiti people and development is this come-and-go attitude of governors. You know, it’s not in our best interest as a people. And by the same grace of God, I have a divine mandate to break that jinx,” he said.
Speaking on his mandate and why he was seeking second term, Governor Oyebanji said:
“When we campaigned three years ago, it was on the mantra of continuity for shared prosperity — building on the work of past administrations and creating an ecosystem that delivers prosperity to our people.
“In less than three years, we have achieved close to 80% completion of inherited projects, because these projects belong to the people and were funded with public resources.
“We have also created conditions for productivity. A people who are not productive cannot prosper. So, we put in place the building blocks for productivity — infrastructure, electricity, and healthcare. For example, more than 60 communities that had been in darkness for nearly two decades have now been connected to the grid.”
Also speaking, the Senate Leader,
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele who accompanied the governor said:
“our governor has delivered on infrastructure, human capital development, and stability. All stakeholders in Ekiti — past governors, current and former lawmakers, and leaders across party lines — are on the same page. This is the first time we are seeing such broad consensus.
“We look forward to the primaries on October 27, and by the grace of God, we will welcome you all to Ekiti to see firsthand the progress that has been made.”
