*olls out his governance agenda

Abiodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has been sworn-in as the governor of Ekiti State.

Oyebanji took his oath of office at the state’s government house on Sunday at about 12:53 pm.

The former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) was sworn in by the Chief Judge of Ekiti, Justice John Adeyeye, said that his six points developmental agenda would focus on youths’ development and jobs creation.

Others are: human capital development, Agriculture and rural development and infrastructure, industrialisation, arts, culture and tourism as well as good governance.

The governor said that his vision for the state was for it to be a land of prosperity, opportunity, peace, progress and a land which transformed people and for communities to reap the fruits of their labour in dignity, good health and safety.

Oyebanji said the six-point agenda was carefully selected based on his experience in the public and private sectors, coupled with the yearnings of the masses to improve the status of the state.

He said for the vision to be actualised, there was need to focus on a roadmap to get there, urging the people to be partners in progress.

Oyebanji said that creating employment and income-generating opportunities for residents of the state would be a critical component of his administration’s agenda.

“We have identified some of the drivers, markets and industries that create these opportunities within the system and intend to nurture them and give them the enabling structures and support required to deliver the jobs we need,” he said.

The governor promised that his administration would ensure that all eligible students have access to free and qualitative basic education up to the Senior Secondary School (SS3), with curricula that prepare them adequately for further learning or the job market.

He also promised to further develop the agriculture sector by attracting more investment in agri-business to deepen the processing capacity of both the staple and cash crops, which would not only provide food security, but help the country to grow its non-oil exports.

“We have a responsibility to support our farmers with facilitated adequate financing, value chain support, access to markets, skills and technology to increase productivity within the sector.

“Giving practitioners the ability to provide food for the state and for exports, while creating the much-needed jobs and opportunities.

“Priority will be given to strategic crops, including cassava, rice, cocoa, cashew, maize, yam and vegetables.

“Accelerating the development of key infrastructure that is critical to our economic development will have a vast impact on our progress.

“Power and transportation are two key priority sectors that will improve our competitiveness and generate positive economic and social impact.

Dignitaries present include the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu; Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu and his Plateau State counterpart, Simon Lalong.

Others include Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) among others.

Oyebanji was declared winner of the Ekiti State governorship election after polling 187,057 votes.

He defeated his two closest challengers — Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who polled 82,211 votes, and Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 67,457 votes.