Royal News

Tag: Ekiti

  • Better candidate will win Ekiti gubernatorial election –Adeyeye

    Better candidate will win Ekiti gubernatorial election –Adeyeye


    A frontline member of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Ekiti State, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye has said that better candidate irrespective of political party membership would win the 2022 governorship election in the state.

    Speaking with our correspondent at the weekend in Abuja, Adeyeye said that the APC could only win the election if it present a popular and acceptable candidate to the people of the state.

    “The election is going to be tough in the sense that the personality of candidate that would be presented by each political party would matter a lot in the election.

    “The candidate that would emerge from the APC will determine the party’s chance of winning the election. It’s definitely not going to be based on the name of the party, because Ekiti people are not happy with the present administration in the state,” he stressed.

    Asked whether he’s still interested in the governorship race having contested it twice in the past, his focus at the moment is on the South West Agenda, SWAGA, a movement for Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition as its chairman.

    “My focus now is on the success of SWAGA which I’m the chairman. It’s a national project and I don’t want to be distracted by a governorship election. We have had tremendous achievements since we launched it Ibadan with over 40 traditional rulers in attendance while we have also visited the palaces of prominent Yoruba obas, including the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo and Alake of Egbaland, among others.

    “We believe that if Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerge as the APC presidential candidate, he’s going to win by the grace of God because of his strong personality and achievements as a politician,” he said.

    Adeyeye, who represented Ekiti South Senatorial District at the beginning of the Ninth Senate, expressed happiness that similar movement in support of Tinubu for presidency has been founded in two other regions, saying that the former Lagos State governor is a better candidate for the nation’s number one office in 2023.

    He, therefore, appealed to all APC members, irrespective of their ethnic and religious affiliations to support Tinubu in becoming the party’s candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

  • Anyone interested in performing pilgrimage from Ekiti should use personal savings– State Govt

    Anyone interested in performing pilgrimage from Ekiti should use personal savings– State Govt


    The Ekiti State Government has advocated more private sponsorship of pilgrims to Mecca and Jerusalem, following government’s withdrawal from bankrolling the activity, according to remarks by the Deputy Governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi.

    Speaking on Tuesday, at a meeting with members of the State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, led by its Chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Onipede, in Ado-Ekiti, Egbeyemi noted that both the federal and state governments had stopped sponsoring pilgrims on holy pilgrimages, to save funds for development purposes.

    He told the board members, who visited him to familiarise themselves with his office, which supervises the Board in the state, that individuals interested in performing pilgrimage should do so through private savings, in view of the government’s withdrawal of sponsorship.

    “Both the Federal Government and the State Government have said they will not spend their money on pilgrimages again, and that is why there was no budgetary allocation to it.

    “Anybody wishing to perform his religious obligation of going to the Holy Lands must do so with his own personal savings, and that was what I told the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) when their executives made a similar request, because we must be fair to all,” Egbeyemi said.

    The deputy governor, however, said that the board’s demand for office furniture and utility vehicles were legitimate and would be looked into accordingly, stressing that the state government was ready to assist the board in the performance of its statutory duties.

    Egbeyemi also expressed satisfaction with the peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians in the state, which made them to live together as brothers and sisters.

    Speaking earlier, Onipede expressed gratitude to Gov. Kayode Fayemi and the deputy governor, for finding him and other members of the board worthy of being appointed to serve.

    Onipede revealed that the board was not run properly during the last administration, hence the need to draw the attention of the present administration to the situation for assistance.

    “It was not functioning as a board during the Fayose administration; it was just lying fallow there and was not run like a board.

    “In Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, we don’t have utility vehicles. Our utility vehicle in Saudi Arabia has been grounded since 2018,” he said.

    Onipede said the board also needed furniture and more funds for the smooth running of the office, for quality service delivery.

  • Fayemi’s wife promises more attention to vulnerable children

    Fayemi’s wife promises more attention to vulnerable children


    The Wife of Ekiti Governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, said that she was ready to work with Federal Government to reduce the number of vulnerable children in the state.

    She said it would prevent them from getting involved in criminal activities.
    Fayemi disclosed this on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti at a meeting with a delegation from The Presidency.

    She said ”more attention would be given to the vulnerable children so that they could live a constructive and productive life.

    She listed vulnerable children to include those out-of-school, orphans, homeless, migrants in farm steads and those with special needs.

    Fayemi, however, said that the state government was ready to empower the children, provide them quality education and engage them in skill acquisition.

    She noted that it was in line with values orientation which remained one of the five pillars of the present administration in Ekiti.

    Responding, the leader of the team tagged “At Risk Children Programme”, Hajia Mariam Uwaise, said they were in the state to monitor existing similar programmes.

    According to her, many of the vulnerable children have good potentials that are yet to be exploited.

    Uwaise, also Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, said ”government relied on collaborative efforts of stakeholders to bring up children in the right manner”.

    Some of the stakeholders at the meeting, Onimesi of Imesi-Ekiti, Oba Olatunji Olatunde, representatives of faith-based organisations and voluntary organisations urged the government to get statistical data of the affected children in order to give them the required assistance.

  • Ekiti State Govt imposes curfew, bans public gathering

    Ekiti State Govt imposes curfew, bans public gathering

    The Ekiti State Government has imposed a curfew from 8.00 pm to 6.00am and as well banned all gatherings of more than 20 people in the state until further notice.

    These restrictions take effect from 5am on Monday, January 11, 2021.

    The Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation, Hon Akinbowale Omole, announced these new guidelines in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, citing the alarming rate at which the second wave of COVID-19 was spreading in Nigeria and elsewhere as reason for these drastic steps.

    He said there was need for the government to be proactive and take decisive steps to secure the citizens from falling prey to the second wave of the pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives all over the world recently.

    He urged the people to continue to observe the COVID-19 protocols strictly and also abide by the curfew and new restrictions placed on public gatherings by the state government.

    Hon Akinbowale Omole called on the people to ensure that they wear their nose masks properly, wash their hands with soap and use hand sanitizer regularly, as well as keep social distance to avoid contracting the virus.

    Omole added that the curfew placed throughout the state from 8.00 pm to 6.00 am will be strictly enforced except for those that can prove that they are on essential services.

  • Ekiti disburses N100m car loans to 278 civil servants

    Ekiti disburses N100m car loans to 278 civil servants

    Barely two days after giving out over N60 million as housing loan to some teachers and other workers, Ekiti State Government has again disbursed another N100 million as car loans to 278 civil servants.

    The Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mr Akintunde Oyebode, made this known to newsmen on Tuesday evening in Ado Ekiti.

    Giving a breakdown of the loan disbursement, he said that the sums ranging from N80,000 to N1.5 million were disbursed to the beneficiaries of the loan scheme depending on their respective grade level.

    Oyebode listed the number of loan recipients to include 41 workers between grade levels 02 to 06; 96 officers on grade level 07 to 10; 134 officers on grade levels 12 to 14; six between grade level 15 and 17; while one of the beneficiaries is on consolidated salary.

    He described the development as a reflection of the commitment of the present administration to improve the welfare of workers.

    He noted that government had continued to fund loan schemes for its employees in spite of the paucity of funds in the state occasioned by the general economic downturn and dwindling allocation from the federation account as well as the effect of the recent global pandemic.

    He urged the beneficiaries to judiciously utilise the money and cautioned them against spending the loan on things that would not add values to their lives.

    The Commissioner also charged workers to reciprocate government’s gesture by rededicating themselves to their duties and supporting the administration’s efforts to develop the State.

  • Fayemi presents cheque of N100m for payment of pensioners’ gratuities

    Fayemi presents cheque of N100m for payment of pensioners’ gratuities


    Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti on Tuesday presented a cheque of N100 million for the payment of gratuities to 41 retired local government workers and primary school teachers in the state for December.

    At the presentation in Ado-Ekiti, Fayemi said that payment of the gratuities was in fulfilment of his promises to ensure that pensioners enjoyed a worthy life after their meritorious services to the state.

    The governor, represented by Mr Biodun Oyebanji, Secretary to the State Government, reiterated his commitment to prioritise issues relating to the welfare and well-being of the pensioners.

    He promised to sustain the techniques adopted by his government in defraying the outstanding gratuities.

    Fayemi promised to continue to utilise his position as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in leading a frontal advocate that would position issues and policies affecting the pensioners on the front burner of the government’s agenda.

    He said that his administration would continue to try its best in making life comfortable for the retirees, urging the beneficiaries to spend their money on profitable ventures.

    “You have laboured for Ekiti, and now you are to collect the fruit of your labour; it speaks to the commitment of the government at ensuring that gratuities and pensions are paid as and when due.

    “It saddens my heart that many retirees that served their fatherland had not been paid their entitlements,” Fayemi said.

    The governor assured the retirees that payment of pensions and gratuities would continue to be on the front burner of the state government policies.

    “I can assure you that before this government winds down, there will be more batches of people that would have been paid.

    “My advice is that as we collect this money, we should make judicious use of it,” he said.

    On the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic across the world, Fayemi cautioned the elderly citizens to avoid large gathering, maintain physical distancing and adhere strictly to other safety protocols.

    According to him, this is to preserve their lives and contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

    The governor also urged old people, considered as one of the most vulnerable age groups, to take personal responsibility in observing the measures put in place to curtail the spread of the infection.

    “I will advise also that as we celebrate Christmas and New Year, we should be guided and be reminded that COVID-19 is back.

    “Science tells us that the second wave is deadlier than the first wave; from history, we learnt that the second wave is always more turbulent.

    “So, I will advise our people to observe social distancing, to watch their hands and observe other identified COVID-19 protocol.

    “If it is not compulsory for us to go any where, as we celebrate Christmas and New Year, let us stay at home,” he said.

    The governor had earlier laid the foundation of the new Secretariat Complex of the union in Ado-Ekiti.

    At the ceremony, Fayemi assured the retirees of his support toward the timely completion of the project.

    The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners in Ekiti, Elder Ayo Kumapayi, commended the governor for his policy on the payment of pensions and gratuities.

    Kumapayi said that the payment had allowed his members to fulfil their financial commitments to the union.

    He said the union’s new office complex was designed to accommodate an office, ICT section, a health section and a kitchen for the betterment of the union members.

    Kumapayi said that funding of various projects, which his administration embarked upon, was drawn majorly from the check-off dues deduction of members.