Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, on Wednesday swore in three commissioners and 10 Special Advisers, charging them to work hard to translate his administration’s electoral promises into visible, concrete and life-changing outcomes for the people of the state.
The Governor also said the administration would be guided by discipline, integrity, excellent service delivery, and speed, stressing that he would be impatient with any appointee found wanting in these areas.
Speaking shortly after the swearing-in ceremony at the Osuntokun Pavilion, Government House in Ado Ekiti, Governor Oyebanji said the event demonstrated his administration’s resolve to ensure that the second term takes off without delay, proving that it is not a period for complacency or self-indulgence but an opportunity to deepen governance.
While describing the appointments as a demonstration of his confidence in the appointees’ abilities and an affirmation of their previous contributions to the state, the Governor said he selected them based on their proven capacity and the value they could add to the administration’s success.
Governor Oyebanji urged them to justify the trust reposed in them by redoubling their efforts and delivering excellent results in their respective portfolios to take the state to an unprecedented level of overall development, economic prosperity and sustainable goals.
The Governor further charged them to ensure that every administrative process and project undertaken by their respective MDAs meets the highest standards of technical competence, transparency and strict professionalism, and is executed with remarkable speed in line with global best practices.
The Governor said, ‘Today’s event is a further demonstration of our resolve to ensure that this administration takes off quickly without any further delay and to prove a point that a second term in office is not for complacency or self-indulgence.
‘That you have been recalled to continue your job is a proof of my confidence in you and the affirmation of your performance. I therefore counsel you to resist the temptation of invisibility and indispensability, which could ultimately bring arrogance; at the end of the day, only God is indispensable.
‘I must make it unequivocally clear that I will be very impatient and completely intolerant of any kind of indiscipline, unethical behaviour, and corruption. We must work very hard to successfully translate all our electoral promises into visible, concrete and life-changing outcomes for the citizens’.
Responding on behalf of the newly sworn-in cabinet members, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Dayo Apata (SAN), pledged his colleagues’ commitment to honesty, impartiality, transparency, and hard work in discharging their duties.
Apata, who said their appointments were a call to service, stressed that their swearing-in marked the start of their responsibility to work closely with the government to implement the administration’s agenda for the state’s development.
He said the cabinet members were particularly mindful of Governor Oyebanji’s desire to leave lasting legacies that would stand the test of time and contribute to a better Ekiti State. The Attorney General, however, described public office as a position of trust rather than a commercial enterprise, emphasising that their declaration of commitment was to serve the people with honesty, impartiality and transparency.
While expressing appreciation to Governor Oyebanji and the people of Ekiti State for the opportunity to serve, Apata thanked the Governor for the confidence reposed in them. He assured that the commissioners would hit the ground running, working to translate the administration’s vision into tangible results.
The newly sworn-in commissioners and special advisers later took oaths of secrecy administered in the Executive Council chambers, after which they commenced their maiden Exco meeting.