“Our Friendship Ended The Day You Accepted To Serve in My Administration” – Ekiti Gov Oyebanji To Political Appointees

By Ayodele Oni

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji has told some of his friends that accepted political offices in his administration that their friendship will be put on hold for now.

Specifically, the Governor told the political appointees that his friendship with them ended the day they took the oath of office to serve as Commissioners and Special Advisers, adding that his relationship with them henceforth would strictly be based on service delivery.

“Some of you are my friends, but friendship stopped the day you took oath of office, now, we are in the era of service.

“Anybody that is my friend will help me to succeed. I am going to draw a line between friendship and service. When it comes to doing the job, we will provide the resources and we’ll demand accountability for performance.

“I reiterate today, continuous stay in Government is going to be premised on performance. I will not hesitate to remove anybody that is constituting him or herself into a clog in the way, I will not blink an eye because, I owe a duty to God and to Ekiti people.”

The Governor spoke at the end of a three-day retreat for all members of the state executive councils and permanent secretaries, with each of the commissioners signing the performance charter, which defined the minimum expectation from them.

This is as the State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji reiterated his avowed commitment to the development of the state, stressing the administration’s zero tolerance for indiscipline and poor performance.

The Governor made it abundantly clear to the newly inaugurated commissioners, Special Advisers  and Permanent Secretaries, at the end of the retreat that failure was not an option under his leadership.

He added that they must strive to exceed expectations of Ekiti people in terms of service by ensuring that every citizen of the State feels the positive impact of his administration.

He emphasized that every decision made and every action taken must be in the best interest of Ekiti people with a clear stance on accountability and an unwavering commitment to the advancement of the State.

While assuring them that government would provide necessary resources needed to succeed in their new assignment, provided they demonstrate a genuine commitment to delivering result that would uplift the lives of the citizens, the Governor said they must spare no effort in fulfilling their duties to the people.

He directed the Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries to replicate similar workshop at the management and Directorate levels in their respective MDAs and directed the Office of Transformation and Service Delivery (OTSD) and the Ministry of Budget, economic Planning and Performance Management to coordinate and report the outcome of such workshops.

He added that even though some of the appointees were his friends, he would still not hesitate to show anyone who performed below expectation the way out, saying he would draw a line between friendship and service.

“The only reason we are here is just to serve our people and history will be kind to us, we have been given a very unique opportunity to contribute to the development of this State.

“I know that none of us will drop the ball, with respect to support, government will support MDAs to deliver on their promises as we put responsibility on you, there is also responsibility on government to ensure you were given tools to deliver.

In the communiqué signed and made available to journalists at the end of the retreat, participants agreed that shared prosperity covenant of BAO administration will be anchored on shared vision, collaboration, compassion, sacrificial mindset, financial prudence and culture of excellent service.

The communique also stated that each MDAs would develop a work plan in line with the State Development Plan and the six pillar of the administration to bring growth, development and prosperity to Ekiti State.

“To strengthen the security architecture of the State to ensure safety of lives and property, to guarantee food security and support agro allied industries by encouraging farming and deepening agricultural value chain through a combination of policies, programmes and direct investment among others.