The Onimesi of Imesi Ekiti, Ayekire Local government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Olatunji Olatunde, has expressed joy over the investiture of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, as the Best Governor of the Year in “Community Development”.
The respectable monarch, said the prestigious honour bestowed on Governor Oyebanji by Daily Independent Newspapers based in Lagos, was a well amplified testimony to the fact that the current government has delivered on its promises to make the third tier of government functional.
Oba Olatunde, a former Commissioner for Works, commended the media organisation for considering the governor of being garlanded with the reputable honour, pledging the unquivering loyalty of his subjects and preparedness to continually back the governor to deliver more democracy dividends to the populace.
The Monarch expressed the joy and heartfelt congratulations, in a message signed on behalf of Imesi Ekiti community and made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti, on Sunday.
Governor Oyebanji was decorated with the honour in Lagos on Saturday, ranking him as the best governor of the year in terms of operation and delivery of community development through the functionality of the local government system.
In the message titled: “Honour to Whom it is Well Deserved”, Oba Olatunde, appealed to the state governors of the federation to emulate Governor Oyebanji and allow the local governments to be truly financially independent.
Oba Olatunde stated that the honour could have been herculean for the governor to accomplish, if he had impeded or muzzled the operations of the local governments, by failing to allow federal allocations get to the local governments directly as wished by the grassroots people .
The traditional ruler commended the governor for his unfailing fidelity in sacrificial and selfless spirits, which he said nudged him to allow the local governments have unfettered access to finances to undertake projects that are having positive impacts on the locals and buffering the current parlous economic situation.
Specifically, the monarch expressed joy that Governor Oyebanji’s surfeit of contributions and efforts in the development of the rural sector was attracting national attention, saying this award lucidly attested to the fact that he was being appreciated.
“On behalf of myself, Onimesi-in-Council and the entire indigenes of Imesi Ekiti, both at home and in the diaspora, I, HRM Oba Olatunji Olatunde congratulates His Excellency, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji on your investiture as the Best Governor of the year in Community Development by Daily Independent Media Group in Lagos.
“My people are particularly joyous about this award because your efforts, landmark achievements and boundless love for community development through financial autonomy and independent operations of our councils, which we thought were hidden, had garnered national attention.
“Mr. Governor, your meteoric rise to stardom in national politics loudly testified to the fact that good leaders will always be appreciated no matter how long they hide. You have tried to hide yourself from media attention and the razzmatazz surrounding it, but the grace of God and your good deeds located you.
“We could all bear witness to how independent our local governments are under your able and magnanimous leadership. You have been able to convincingly display that our local governments that are gradually becoming comatose can be functional with good leadership, like the one you are offering Ekiti residents.
“Under your impressive hegemony, local governments are now scrambling and competing for project executions in the areas of road construction and grading of rural roads, building of shopping malls, construction of modern schools, building of market stalls, distribution of instructional materials to schools, disbursement of palliative materials, and payment of salary and pension as and when due, among others.
“By every measure of standard, this award was well deserved. I pray that Governor Oyebanji takes Ekiti to the promised land during his reign. He has started well and toeing that line, I know that Ekiti people will back him up to achieve all his dreams for the state”, Oba Olatunde stated.
Oba Olatunde pledged the loyalty of Imesi town to Oyebanji’s administration, saying: “We have a longstanding peculiar relationship with Mr Governor and this reflected in the way he related with us during the death and burial of our late son and his political soulmate, Barrister Paul Omotoso.
“We want to assure Mr. Governor that on this relationship we stand. We will neither quake nor renege. We shall continue to support him until all his ambitions in and outside the office are fulfilled.
“We congratulate him heartily on this award and we are unrepentantly hopeful that many awards of this category are still in the offing to show appreciation to the sterling leadership being entrenched in Ekiti by Governor Oyebanji”.
