Dr Kayode Fayemi
In o kun EKiti Kete.
My dear honourable people of Ekiti State, Nigeria, It is with total gratitude to God and a great sense of humility that I address you today on the recent Supreme Court pronouncement affirming my election as your Governor. This pronouncement has brought to a closure all issues arising from the 2007 gubernatorial election in our state.
This has been popularly tagged in our dear state as ‘The Supreme Verdict of the Supreme Court by the grace of the Supreme God’. The Judiciary has once again demonstrated that it is the last hope of the people and I am immensely grateful to the Justices of the Supreme Court for exhibiting the highest level of courage by standing on the side of the truth. I am even more delighted by the genuine and spontaneous outpouring of love and support all over Ekiti land and beyond, upon the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling.
Since the appeal court pronouncement of Friday, October 15, 2010 and subsequent inauguration of my administration on Saturday, October 16, 2010, we have worked assiduously to ensure a clinical implementation of our Road Map to Ekiti Recovery – the 8 point Agenda. Our success so far is evident in all the projects we have either delivered, that are still ongoing or even the ones at the stage of conception. In spite of the long drawn legal tussle, we were never for once distracted in our avowed commitment to make a permanent dent on poverty in all spheres of livelihood. In doing this, it has not been smooth sailing and all rosy but I am very happy today that the gains of those tough decisions are beginning to manifest across the state.
As a government, our reaction to this judgment is subdued because it has further compelled us to face the task of banishing poverty from Ekiti with greater rigour. This judgment and your support all through has further strengthened us to accelerate the throttle of delivery to our people. By this judgement, your collective efforts, prayers, support and desire to have a government elected by yourselves and responsible to you has been affirmed. I therefore have no choice than to fully and wholeheartedly rededicate myself to the task of renewal and rebirth of Ekiti State.
When we came into office, we saw an aggregate deficit in infrastructure, human capital development, education, healthcare services, tourism and many more. The preceding administration because it was not elected by you the electorate, carried on prosecuting a selfish agenda thereby shortchanging our people. All these we set out to correct because we knew from day one that we are in office at your pleasure and must therefore perform to earn your trust and justify the mandate freely given us at the polls.
In two and a half years in office, we have justified our mandate as can be seen in virtually all sectors such that commendations have come in from various stakeholders across the state and beyond.
In the critical area of infrastructure which we believe would uplift the standard of living of our people, we have done well. We have in a space of thirty months done more roads than all previous administrations put together. More than 750km of roads have either been newly built, upgraded or rehabilitated across the state. Today, as I speak, no part of Ekiti is distant anymore. There is no place in Ekiti you cannot reach from the capital Ado-Ekiti within one hour. Our state capital Ado-Ekiti has become a beauty to behold such that old visitors would most likely miss their way.
A visit to Ikogosi which is our flagship tourism location will tell you how determination can turn vision into reality. Ikogosi is gradually being transformed from a rural town to an important tourist destination in the country.
We have renovated all our schools, re-orientated the teachers, provided laptops for senior secondary school students to acquaint them with the ICT age while our State University (EKSU) is improving in quality service delivery which is making it to become one of the best universities in the country.
Our novel Social Security Scheme which gives monthly stipends to the elderly has been receiving accolades from far and wide, and being recommended for study and implementation by other states.
We have spent considerable resources on our health sector where the young, pregnant women, physically challenged and elderly get free medical services. In addition, more than 750,000 patients – indigenes and residents have received medical services from our quarterly free health missions.
Our agenda on agriculture is very much on course. Apart from the YCAD project which introduces youth to agriculture, efforts are being made to irrigate about two thousand hectares of land for all-year round farming in the state. This would be a veritable platform to reduce unemployment in the state, not to mention the great strides we are making in attracting commercial agriculture investors to the state.
I am pleased to report that our determination to provide clean and safe water for our people is yielding positive results such that communities that haven’t had potable water in several decades have started receiving water supply. Many more communities would soon join the growing list with our recent success in winning a major funding from the World Bank for Water provision in the state.
My good people of Ekiti, we can go on and on telling what we have achieved through our 8-Point agenda which you can see, touch and attest to, but that is not the purpose of this broadcast per se.
However, as we move on to consolidate on our various developmental initiatives, we still count on your support, advice and constructive criticism at all times. I also assure you that in the days to come, you shall witness massive turn around in the fortunes of our dear state as we consummate the completion of various projects and also embark on the implementation of new ones.
Let me use this opportunity to remind us that as a people, we are one indivisible entity, regardless of our different political persuasions. Politics will come and go, but EKITI will outlive all of us therefore we have to be mindful of the judgment of history. The vision of our founding fathers is to have a state that we can all be proud of and this has been our guiding principle in our policy choices since the inception of this administration. We intend to pursue this noble cause with more vigor going forward. As I stated in my inaugural speech on Saturday, October 16, 2010 “Our only choice is to continue on the path of reconciliation and renewal…because this state is bigger than us all”.
On this note, permit me to extend my hand of fellowship to our brothers on the other side, our state needs all men and women of goodwill and intellect to develop. As a government, we shall be receptive to suggestions and constructive advice from all and sundry who show commitment to the development of our beloved state. To the members of our great party the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), let us be magnanimous in victory and as we celebrate we should eschew unnecessary bickering on account of differences in political affiliations and also be mindful of the enormous burden that this victory has further placed on our shoulders.
At this juncture, let me restate what I said in my initial reaction in Abuja, shortly after the Supreme Court judgment that election thieves should be punished by the courts. If election thieves know that punishment awaits them, they would be more circumspect in stealing votes and tampering with the sacred mandate of the people. In fact, going to courts to cause distraction and waste precious time would become less attractive.
With this victory on our side, our people should expect us to deliver more on our promise to drive away poverty from our land of honour. We certainly have more work to do. At our pace of service delivery, I do not have any doubt that we are almost at the threshold of breaking the poverty jinx in our state. Our hands are on the plough, there is no looking back.
Within the next few months, you would be seeing me more frequently either on visits to commission projects or to interact with you and rub minds on issues bordering on the development of our dear state.
My good people of Ekiti State, Nigeria, in accepting this verdict of victory, I would like us to pause for a moment and remember our heroine, the late former deputy governor, Mrs. Funmilayo Adunni Olayinka, who gave her all to the service of Ekiti land. This victory is dedicated to her and to the good people of Ekiti State who stood with us through thick and thin. May her soul continue to rest in perfect peace.
My sincere appreciation goes to all lovers on democracy in Nigeria and all around the world for the consistent support given to us in the struggle to reclaim the mandate freely given to us by the good people of Ekiti State.
As we celebrate this victory for democracy, we re-dedicate our lives to the service of our dear state; for that is the least we can do.
Just Keep Faith because In God we Trust.
Thank you and God bless.
Dr. Kayode Fayemi
Governor, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Last modified: June 2, 2013
