Chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee in Ekiti State, Hon. Dare Adeleke, has once again challenged Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s claim that his administration has not borrowed any funds to run the state.
In a statement released to the media, Adeleke dismissed the governor’s figures, describing them as “manufactured and doctored in a lab of deceit.”
He stated:
“I read with amusement Governor Oyebanji’s defense against the report released by the Debt Management Office of Nigeria. His aides have attempted to mislead the people by listing phantom projects that exist only in their imagination, projects the people cannot see or feel.
Oyebanji reminds one of the fabled Ali, who tricked people into claiming they saw angels by saying only the good could see them, though no angels were there to begin with.
But the people of Ekiti are neither gullible nor trapped in a fable. They can see the truth. They are aware and bemused by the twisted antics of their governor, antics that amount to political buffoonery.
How does Governor Oyebanji justify the fact that, between June 30, 2023, and December 31, 2024, the state’s external debt rose from $103.48 million to $134.53 million, according to the Debt Management Office of Nigeria? Yet, he insists he hasn’t borrowed a dime, claiming instead that much of the debt was inherited from past administrations or camouflaged as World Bank loans.
Why does Ekiti, a state home to some of Nigeria’s most educated citizens, struggle to make meaningful progress while other states with larger cities like Ibadan, Osogbo, and Ilesa continue to develop into modern metropolitan hubs?”
Let’s look at the facts:
Ekiti State’s External Debt Hits $134.59 Million (₦215.34 Billion)
As of December 31, 2024, Ekiti State’s external debt stood at approximately $134.59 million (₦215.34 billion), according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO).
This represents a significant increase from the $121.05 million (₦193.68 billion) recorded in 2023, marking a 13% rise in one year (Nairametrics).
Over an 18-month period from June 2023 to December 2024, Ekiti’s external debt rose by 30.1%, amounting to an increase of $31.1 million (₦49.76 billion).
This positions Ekiti among the top 10 Nigerian states with the highest external debt as of mid-2024.
“Another disturbing trend is the reckless manner in which Oyebanji squanders public funds meant for the welfare of Ekiti people.
According to a Facebook user, ‘Igbega Ekiti Kete’, the governor allegedly spent a staggering N4.7 billion on a vague project called ‘Labour-Intensive Welfare Engagement’. What does that even mean?
Clearly, it was yet another excuse to siphon state funds and distribute the people’s wealth among political cronies.
I challenge Governor Oyebanji to provide details, how many youths were truly empowered through this abstract program?
In truth, this was nothing more than a conduit to divert public funds. The so-called ’empowered youths’ were merely used as political errand boys, wearing branded T-shirts and caps, chanting the governor’s name at rallies.
Meanwhile, poverty continues to grip the people of Ekiti like a second skin, while the governor and his co-travelers in self-aggrandizement feed fat with bloated bellies.
It is clear that Oyebanji is nervous about the 2026 elections. And it is equally clear that not even President Tinubu can save him from an inevitable defeat, as the people are resolved to remove him with their votes.”
