“As Governor Oyebanji places his hand on the constitution and takes the oath this morning for the second time, he is not just taking office. He is taking Ekiti’s performance to a higher altitude, Ekiti’s empathy to deeper depths, Ekiti’s humility to a nobler height, and Ekiti’s faith to a surer anchor”
TODAY, BAO TAKES PERFORMANCE, EMPATHY, HUMILITY AND FAITH TO 2ND TERM
By Segun Dipe
History is made today, Friday, October 16, 2026, at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, Ado-Ekiti.
For the first time since Ekiti was carved out of Ondo State in 1996, a democratically elected governor is driving out of Oke Ayoba as an outgoing governor and driving back in, hours later, as an incoming governor. The one-term jinx that has haunted our Land of Honour for 30 years, a cycle of broken continuities, abandoned projects and bitter rivalries, is finally shattered.
Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, BAO, the Jinx Breaker. The man a cleric recently called Koseleri, the one who dared what no man had done before and succeeded. That is the moment we are witnessing today, and this inauguration is not just a ceremony. It is a vindication of a different kind of politics.
BAO did not campaign with noise. He campaigned with a six-pillar roadmap for Shared Prosperity — youth development and job creation, human capital development, agriculture and rural development, infrastructure and industrialization, arts, culture and tourism, and governance. In four years he turned that roadmap into a living map Ekiti people can walk on, and as he noted at his State of the State Address, the numbers now speak for themselves.
Our economy, which stood at a GDP of N4.6 trillion in 2023, is now projected to approach N8.8 trillion. Our internally generated revenue has grown from N8.7 billion in 2022 to N27.1 billion in 2025, with monthly IGR rising from an average of N700 million to about N2.6 billion. That growth is not accidental; it came from tax reforms, digital transformation and a more business-friendly Ekiti.
That performance is visible on the ground. More than 500 kilometres of inter-state, inter-city and rural roads have been completed, including the iconic Bola Ahmed Tinubu Flyover that now gives Ado-Ekiti a new skyline. The Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, long dismissed as a dream, commenced commercial operations in late 2025, opening our farms and hills to the world of trade, tourism and investment. Over 110 primary healthcare centres and all general hospitals were renovated and equipped, with the Ulerawa health insurance initiative guaranteeing care free at the point of need. 203 secondary schools and over 900 primary schools were renovated, ICT labs installed, teachers recruited and motivated.
But as the Governor himself said, what matters most is how this growth improves the lives of our people. Governance is not just about numbers.
That is why his empathy resonates. The recent NBS report showing Ekiti has the lowest food inflation rate in Nigeria is not just a statistic. It is the result of deliberate interventions like Ounje Ekiti that make food more affordable, and investments in agriculture that create opportunities for our farmers.
It is also why he governs like a man who remembers names. When floods came, he was in the mud with the victims. When pensioners wept, he listened first, then paid. Beyond the over N14 billion paid in pensions, gratuities, car and housing loans in four years, his administration has now disbursed N11.7 billion in gratuities to 3,642 state pensioners alone, clearing tears that had gathered for years. He paid N2.158 billion in WAEC fees for about 69,000 Ekiti children and handed out 12,400 free JAMB forms, because he believes brilliance must never be punished by poverty. He trained 2,000 young people in cybersecurity, AI, software development and data analytics for the Ekiti Knowledge Zone future, while restoring light to communities in Ayekire, Ekiti East and the Ikogosi tourism corridor that had lived in darkness for decades. The elderly citizens’ programme held on October 12 as part of this inauguration was not an afterthought, it is who he is, a leader who reserves a seat at the table for the old and forgotten.
In an era of loud governors, BAO is a quiet storm. He has demystified Oke Ayoba. He consults traditional rulers before he announces, listens to market women before he decides, and carries former governors, opposition leaders and the youth along in one big Ekiti conference. That humility is why Ekiti, notoriously fractious, became peaceful under him. It is why a Senate Leader and opposition figures could stand on the same stage during his 8-Hour Sacrifice of Praise on October 9 and say, continue. It is why his victory on June 20, 319,224 votes to his closest rival’s 40,543, felt less like a contest and more like a consensus. He won all 16 LGAs and 175 of 177 wards, including Ikere, the home base of his opponent.
BAO never hides the source code of his strength. Every success I have recorded, he often says, is grace. That is why the two-week programme that began October 2 began not with sirens, but with a Jumaat Thanksgiving at the Central Mosque, continued with an 8-Hour Sacrifice of Praise at Oluwasindara Grounds led by voices like Nathaniel Bassey, and will end with a Thanksgiving Service at the Anglican Cathedral, Okesa on October 18. Four hours of praise for the first term that God saw him through, and four hours of praise for the second term he is committing into God’s hands today.
As Governor Oyebanji places his hand on the constitution and takes the oath this morning for the second time, he is not just taking office. He is taking Ekiti’s performance to a higher altitude, Ekiti’s empathy to deeper depths, Ekiti’s humility to a nobler height, and Ekiti’s faith to a surer anchor.
He has already promised, with God’s grace and support of the people, my second term will be far more impactful than the first.
Ekiti believes him. Because for four years, we have watched a man lead without shouting, build without boasting, forgive without keeping score, and pray without pretence. There is still much to do, and as he said, his focus is to build on these gains, create more jobs and ensure that every Ekiti resident has a reason to look forward to a better future.
History will record today, October 16, 2026, as the day the jinx broke. But the people will remember it as the day Ekiti decided that performance, empathy, humility and faith are enough to build a future on, and chose BAO to carry them there again.
Segun Dipe is the Publicity Secretary of the All Progreasives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State
