Faisal Salisu DambattaThe Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Dr Oluwole Oluyede, has said that the present All Progressives Congress(APC )government in the state, headed by Governor Biodun Oyebanji, has failed to deliver meaningful dividends of democracy to the people.
Oluyede, who said that the Oyebanji administration had not matched the resources available to the state with visible and impactful development projects, said that “Ekiti deserved a government that prioritises their welfare and channels public funds into projects that have a direct impact on their daily lives, which PDP will provide.”
The PDP candidate, in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media, Gani Salau, expressed disappointment with the inability of the Oyebanji administration to bring President Bola Tinubu to Ekiti State to inaugurate development projects, which he said indicated that there was nothing concrete on the ground.
He stated, “It is becoming increasingly difficult to point to a single landmark project in Ekiti that would warrant presidential commissioning. Instead, what we see are repeated visits to the Presidency and well-publicised photographs that offer little value to the ordinary citizens.”
The PDP candidate stated that governors of states, including Ogun, Lagos, Enugu, Imo and Kaduna, had, within similar timelines, attracted presidential visits to inaugurate key infrastructure projects.
He said, “The absence of such a project inauguration in Ekiti nearly three years into the Oyebanji administration raises concerns about the utilisation of state resources. Ekiti people deserve to know how their resources are being used. There must be accountability and transparency in governance. Leadership must be about measurable progress, not public relations.
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“Key sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education and youth empowerment have not witnessed the level of transformation expected under the current administration. Many communities across the state are still grappling with poor road networks, limited access to quality healthcare services and inadequate economic opportunities,” Oluyede said.
But the APC State Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, dismissed the accusations, describing them as general expectations from the opposition from time to time.
Dipe challenged Oluyede, “If you want to see dividends of democracy, you should not stay in Australia or should not be traveling in and out, you should come to Ekiti State, even within Ado Ekiti metropolis, you should go to the roads that have been constructed, that’s where dividend of democracy speaks.
“You should go to the places where there were no lights, and there is light now, that’s where the dividend of democracy speaks. You should see the salaries that are being paid, contrary to what was happening during the PDP days; that’s when the dividend of democracy speaks. You should look at the faces of the pensioners and retirees, that’s where dividend of democracy speaks.”
Dipe, who said that Oyebanji had done exceedingly well and deserved a second term, developing the state across all sectors and touching the people’s lives, said, “That you see President Tinubu and Governor Oyebanji constantly interacting and relating shows that the President is happy with the governor and he is happy with the government and governance in the state.”
