Group chides Fayose on criticism of Oyebanji’s endorsements

…Says endorsements show of genuine love for Ekiti gov

A support group for Ekiti State governor, The Progress Mandate, has berated a governorship aspirant in the state, Mr. Emmanuel Fayose, for insinuating that the endorsements received by Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his second term bid were not genuine.

Emmanuel Fayose, at the weekend during his ‘grassroots familiarisation tour’ of Ado Ekiti and Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government areas of the state, at the weekend, said Oyebanji’s endorsement for another term of office by various groups in the state was “a self-endorsement jamboree.”

Fayose had also claimed on the occasion that the federal allocation which accrues to Ekiti State was being frittered away by Governor Oyebanji on endorsements and political campaigns.

The Progress Mandate, which reacted through a statement by its Director-General, ‘Yomi Oso, said the statements credited to Fayose showed that he lacked understanding of governance and public administration.

Oso said: “Governance is not an inherited skill. It requires competence, not surname. It must be emphasised that proximity to power does not translate to understanding of governance. That Mr. Emmanuel Fayose shares a surname and bloodline with a former governor does not endow him with the requisite competence or intellectual depth to engage issues of statecraft.”

According to him, Fayose had a superficial understanding of governance and had demonstrated this by his shallow analysis of the performance of the achievements of Governor Oyebanji in Ekiti State.

“Mr. Fayose’s references to “federal allocations” and perceived economic hardship reflect a superficial understanding of the architecture of fiscal federalism, macroeconomic governance, and public sector planning. Federal allocations are not free-flowing largesse to be distributed on whims; they are statutory disbursements tied to fiscal responsibility frameworks and subject to structured utilisation through legally approved budgets, procurement regulations, and performance auditing mechanisms,” he noted.

Speaking on the endorsements which he described as “organic and reflected public trust,” he said “to categorise the overwhelming endorsements Governor Oyebanji has received as “jamborees” is not only reductionist but intellectually dishonest.

“The endorsements have come not from rented crowds, but from critical stakeholders: traditional rulers, community leaders, youth formations, labour unions, market associations, academia, and the grassroots.

“This broad-based acceptance speaks to a leadership style rooted in accessibility, humility, and developmental delivery. It is not optics; it is outcome-based political legitimacy.”

The group said “performance, not pageantry, defines true leadership,” and that “the Oyebanji administration’s approach to governance is empirical, not performative.”

Oso maintained that “leadership today is evaluated through metrics: kilometres of roads constructed, number of lives impacted, schools rehabilitated, hospitals equipped, rural communities integrated, and digital innovations mainstreamed in civil service delivery.”

According to him, unlike the era of applause-for-attention, “Governor Oyebanji leads with calm intentionality, governance that is strategic, silent in rhetoric but loud in impact,” and advised Mr. Emmanuel Fayose “to seek enlightenment before making public interventions as political tantrums are not substitutes for competence, and inherited names are no credentials for effective governance.”

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE