Mr Debo Ranti Ajayi is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming election in Ekiti State. He speaks with select journalists on why he sees himself as most qualified to take over from the incumbent governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, having garnered experiences in the corporate world and government, as Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Innovation and later as pioneer Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning. BOLA BADMUS brings the excerpts:
WHO is Debo Ranti Ajayi and why has he decided to contest the governorship of Ekiti State under the APC platform in the coming poll?
I am a native of Emure Ekiti in South Senatorial District of the state. Professionally, I am an actuary, am a Fellow of the American Society of Actuaries. I have been a commissioner in Ekiti State. I was the pioneer Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning but before then, I was Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Innovation in the government of Dr Kayode Fayemi.
I have worked all around the world, I have worked in Canada for over 13years; I worked in US and in the Middle East. I had taken charge of 12 to 34 countries at some point as the Chief Actuary for a subsidiary of American International Group. I was also the Senior Corporate Actuary Globally for the same company covering several countries.
I was the Managing Director of Minimal Incorporated, a global company with a specific oversight to establish operations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia; so all these I worked with before I became a commissioner in Ekiti State in December 2011. I have been living in Nigeria and particularly in Ekiti State since then. So I have had six years of being on ground in Ekiti State.
Why am I interested in running for the governorship of Ekiti State? My experience back in Nigeria has shown that Nigeria needs good leadership, a leadership that cares for the people. It needs a leadership that knows how to get the best of the people; that thinks about succession planning, visionary leadership. I have seen from experience that Nigerians actually gravitate and respond very well to a good leadership, that has actually inspired me. And then I see the potential in Ekiti State and I realise that the leadership that Ekiti has had over the years had actually not been what to bring the best of the good people of Ekiti.
What do you think is your chance of becoming the candidate of the APC, as some people are now saying the structure of the party was installed by former Governor Fayemi, who is also rumoured to be interested in coming back as governor?
I will say that what places me above others are; one, I am a candidate that has prior work experience in Ekiti. I am very familiar with legacy issues that we need to continue. I am very familiar with the people and I have been part of the process of putting some innovative projects in place that I will need to revive such as the Ekiti Knowledge Zone. Two, I happen to have a lot of international development experience, having worked in various places around the world at senior management level. Of course, I am not in the category of politicians that have baggage. The people know me; they don’t have to go to New York, they don’t have to go to Chicago or Dubai to find out who Debo Ranti Ajayi is. They know from the actual work relationship with me the kind of leadership, the kind of track record I have among them. So, that speaks for me. I am clean, I have not made enemies; none of those political leaders would tell you that they have issues with me. I am very plain.
And then also, people know my credibility, having led global organisations for decades. There is also the sentiment in Ekiti today in favour of Ekiti South Senatorial District, which has never produced a governor and fortunately, I come from the south and again that adds to my chances.
On who control the structure, the use of the word “control” will actually suggest that people don’t have their own minds. The fact that one controls a structure, especially in an environment where there is a lot of agitation right now for Ekiti to regain its good image in the comity of states in Nigeria, people are going to exercise their rationality. They are going to exercise their own ability to assess who they want to lead them.
As a former commissioner in the state, what do you think people will remember you for? And if you finally emerge as the APC’s candidate and win the election to become next governor, how will you increase the revenue of the state and solve problems of unemployment?
I was the pioneer Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning and I was the commissioner that introduced participatory budgeting system, which allows all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to actually participate in setting priority for budget. Besides, I was the commissioner that introduced Medium Term Sectorial Strategy (MTSS) and Medium Term Expenditure Framework, which really is budgeting based on projection on the economy and the priority of the state for the medium term and then rolling it back into the formation of the annual budgets. Also, I introduced automation of budget in Ekiti, so MDAs do not have to physically come to budget office to submit their documentations, or to submit their requests or proposal of budgets. They can do it in the comfort of their offices. The systems that we used in Ekiti, I personally developed them, using the civil servants. So I am recognised as the commissioner that actually used the civil servants to get things done, not external consultants. We worked together. In fact, it’s so gratifying to have to work with Ekiti Civil Servants because of the way they responded to me. There were days, three days in a roll that these civil servants were actually sleeping in the office not going home. I was privileged to work with them. I would be in the office sometimes till 5 a.m., I come from the corporate environment so when you have task to accomplish, you put everything into it. So, the system and the processes are still there up till today and that is what the government is still operating and we have received national awards for our budgeting system in Ekiti. If you go to Ekiti today and interact with the civil servants, they would have this to tell you.
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