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A SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, DR JOHN KAYODE FAYEMI, THE GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE AT THE STAKEHOLDER’S MEETING

HELD IN LAGOS ON 15TH SEPTEMBER, 2011

PROTOCOLS

In okun o, omo Ekiti Kete

On behalf of the government and the good people of Ekiti

State, - ile iyi, ile eye, I give glory to the Almighty God for this day

and I also welcome you all to today’s event which is the second in

our series of planned collaboration and engagement with critical

stakeholders in Ekiti project. As you are aware, the first in the

series of the consultation took place in Abuja on Thursday, 21st

July, 2011. This was followed by my visit to some Federal

Ministries, Parastatals and Agencies between Monday, 8th of

August and Wednesday, 10th of August, 2011 to further deepen

the conversation and place our developmental agenda in the front

banner of the Federal Government and it is on record that our

State has started to reap from this exercise. The import of today’s

meeting is to create an opportunity for interaction between your

 

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government and yourself on the best way to move

our dear State forward.

As you are aware, I assumed by the special grace of God

and the benevolence of our people, the mantle of leadership of

Ekiti State on Saturday, 16th October, 2010. In my inaugural

speech, I promised an all inclusive government where critical

stakeholders will contribute to the process of policy formulation

and evaluation of government programmes. This is based on my

conviction that not everybody has to be in government to add

significantly to the equation that brings about success. Today’s

event is in partial fulfillment of that promise. This exercise will be

replicated in Portharcourt before the end of the year. You may

recall that we have had similar events in London, New York and

Washington DC where I used the opportunity of my previous

official visits to meet with Ekiti people residing in the UK and US.

Since my assumption of duty, I have taken the pain with due

diligence to subject the State to a rigorous forensic examination.

Compatriots, the situation is bad but not hopeless and we are

resolved to turn around the fortunes of the State for good through

religious implementation of our recovery template - The 8 Point

Agenda. To demonstrate our commitment to quick recovery,

growth, development and transparency, we have signed the

 

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Freedom of Information Bill and the Fiscal

Responsibility Bill into Law.

I am conscious of the fact that we are saddled with great

challenges and enormous expectation. Happily we do not suffer a

dearth of ideas on how to navigate to a very safe shore, but we

plead for a reasonable amount of patience and understanding in

meeting expectations. We are aware that having achieved

electoral credibility, it is our duty as a government to also pursue

performance credibility by ensuring that our transformation

agenda gains traction.

Permit me to state here that we have taken considerable

steps to reposition the State. Agriculture, Education, Health Care,

Tourism, Infrastructural Development, Youth Empowerment and

Gender Issues are receiving strategic attention. It is my belief

that very soon, our robust intervention shall begin to fully manifest

because we have put in place an enduring building blocks for the

rapid transformation of our State. To us, this is not the time for

sentiments but the time to see the identified challenges as

opportunities to prove our mettle. I can assure you that, the Ekiti

State Government under my watch will use all available resources

to put a stop to the slide towards poverty and deprivation. As we

march on with our transformation agenda, we are certain that

ideas and knowledge are critical components of any success

 

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story in terms of deepening our governance

process. This is why constructive ideas and suggestions are

always welcome by us in terms of reforming our systems,

institutions and process. That is why we have offered ourselves

as a pilot for the Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum peer review

process. Only last week, I received a delegation of the Review

Team when they came to meet with the State Exco. So, by all

means – let those who have superior ideas push them to the

forefront. As long as these relate to Ekiti development in a

specific, measurable, accurate, result-oriented and time bound

manner, they are welcome. Ekiti has no business with poverty.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are conscious of the fact that we

have to improve our social networking; we must properly network

to increase our net-worth as a people. This is an area in which

we are significantly lacking in courage and boldness to step out of

our shells. Although, there are exceptions we are generally

reticent about projecting ourselves so much that when we do,

people express surprise that we are Ekiti. It is therefore my desire

to strengthen the existing unifying platforms, community groups

and socio-cultural associations like Ekiti Parapo, Egbe Omo Ekiti,

Igbimo Ure Ekiti etc, to significantly contribute to governance in

our State. I therefore enjoin you to please be generous and frank

in your contributions today because at the end of this

 

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engagement, we should be able to build a

consensus on basic parameters and deliverables for measuring

our success as a government. Our desire is to feed decision

reached at today’s meeting into the Ekiti State Strategic Action

Plan.

Let me assure you that we will sustain this partnership

because it is in our own interest and that of our people that we

constantly subject ourselves to periodic appraisal. Many of you

occupy strategic positions in the Federal Government and the

Private Sector. We need to forge a strategic link that is

sustainable and that will enable you to act as our Ambassadors at

these outposts. We need to have useful inside information on

developments in your sector. One critical assignment we have

given ourselves is the studying of the recently passed Federal

Budget 2011 Act, working with our elected representatives in the

National Assembly and Ekiti officials with various Federal MDAs.

We deserve to be aware of opportunities in the international

development and non-governmental sectors too where some of

our indigenes also occupy critical positions. To this end,

government has decided to appoint a key official to be based in

Abuja as Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Inter-

Governmental Affairs.

 

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In conclusion, I want to assure everyone that I

offer myself not as your leader, but as your servant. I believe I

possess some qualities that can help transform Ekitiland in the

cynosure of all eyes. I am also confident that the citizens of our

State possess a collective resolve to stop the slide and pursue the

path of honour, integrity, hard work and peace for which we are

known in the quest to ensure holistic development. I am not

unmindful of the enormity of the task before us and I do not lay

claim to having all the solutions to the problems plaguing Ekiti

State. I believe that the search for enduring solutions must begin

with the building of genuine collective consensus and collective

goodwill.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as major stakeholders

in this consensus building process, let us be frank with ourselves

and constructive with our criticisms. As a government, we need

your help, understanding and support and I invite you to join

hands with me in this Collective Rescue Mission.

I thank you for listening. Erinle Ekiti a gbe a o.