Nigeria not fortunate to have courageous leader like Tinubu in the past – Oyebanji

…Says if not for president’s policies, most governors would abandon their states
…Predicts landslide victory for Tinubu in 2027

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji has revealed that the country has suffered in the last few years over the failure of leaders to take courageous and intentional decisions like President Bola Tinubu.

Oyebanji explained that the president since his assumption of office in 2023 has made critical and bold decisions in the best interest of the country, which he said citizens would soon begin to see the positive effects in the nation’s economy.

The governor who spoke in an exclusive interview on Television Continental(TVC) and monitored by Nigerian Tribune, on Sunday said the bold and courageous decisions of the president have resulted in more resources for the state governors to attend to developmental projects in their respective states.

According to him, most state governors would have been finding it difficult to meet the basic needs of governance and effectively leave their states, if not for the decisions of the president on removal of subsidy, unification of the exchange rate and other economic policies which has given rise to more revenue to the sub-nationals. 

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He predicted victory for the president in the 2027 general election, adding that, “ let me say that he has the support of all the governors, politics apart.”

Oyebanji said, “ Let me say emphatically that President Bola Tinubu will be re-elected and he will win fair and square, even more than the 2023 general election on the strength of his performances.

“ I will give you two analogies; when a woman is pregnant and wants to deliver naturally she will go through pain. If you have a boil and it is on the verge of bursting, it will go through pain. Pains are necessary conditions for progress.

“ But, unfortunately as a country, we have not been fortunate to have at the national level a courageous and intentional leader that ought to take us through those pains to get to the promised land. So, this is the first time we are having a prepared president, not lacking the courage to take hard decisions.

“ In the past when there was a problem, people would go, print money and push them out for things to come down; nobody has been able to take the bull by the horns but we are now seeing the good results of the monetary and fiscal policies of the president.

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“ You are asking me where are we getting money in Ekiti state, and I will say one thing that most of the things people are accusing the president of that brings this pain (unification of the exchange rate, removal of fuel subsidy, tax reforms system) those are the things that has led to more resources to the sub-nationals that we are spending for the people.

“ If President Tinubu had not taken these bold decisions, every governor must have run away from their states, that is the truth. In Ekiti state, we are a small state and on the revenue allocation ladder, we are second or third to the last. The workforce in Ekiti is close to 40,000 and our monthly wage bill is N8 billion, excluding subsidies to institutions and running of government offices.

“ So, any month we get less than N8 billion, we have to go to the bank for overdraft. If not for these resources from a president who is so intentional and ready to develop the country, before the end of this year 2025, people will start to see the results of these bold decisions.

“ We cannot develop as a country on a microwave solution, and that has been our psyche over the years, nobody wants to step out of their comfort zone, we don’t want to bear pain and take risks. What can we say we are producing and exporting as a country that is earning us foreign exchange apart from crude oil and are we going to depend on oil for life?

“ So, if a president says he has to secure the future of a generation yet to be born, we should support him. Pain is a necessary condition for progress and I want to commend the president for his courage, tenacity and the reforms. Let me say that he has the support of all the governors and politics apart.”

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