The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has pledged to lobby President Bola Tinubu to refund over N15 billion spent on the Ado-Iworoko-Ifaki road, a federal road constructed by the Ekiti State Government.
The Senate President also directed the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation to ensure speedy appropriation for the construction of the Ado-Ijan Ekiti road, along the new Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, stressing that improving road infrastructure in the state would further enhance access to the airport and boost economic activities.
Akpabio stated this at the weekend during the 29th convocation ceremony of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, where the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji; and Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Mansur Muhtar, were awarded honorary doctorate degrees.
“I don’t need to say more. The fact that I struggled to get here—where is the Chairman of Appropriation? I hereby direct that the road from the airport, which is a federal road, must be appropriated for. We can’t have the best educational facilities and lack the best infrastructure.
“Even the few kilometers that he (Governor) has done up to this university—the money shall be refunded to the state. When you open the doors of schools, you close the doors of prisons. I pray today that in all Nigerian prisons, no Ekiti child shall be there because you are educated and you know the right thing to do.”
Speaking during the thanksgiving service for his mother, Julianah Bamidele, in his country home, Iyin Ekiti, after the convocation, the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, narrated how former Governor Ayodele Fayose used soldiers to restrict the movement of the then governors of Lagos, Bola Tinubu; Ogun, Segun Osoba; and Osun, Bisi Akande, when they came for his mother’s burial 18 years ago.
He said that the governors and other leaders who attended his mother’s burial were at former Governor Adeniyi Adebayo’s home in Iyin Ekiti when soldiers, acting on Fayose’s orders, mounted a roadblock in front of the house, preventing anyone from entering or exiting.
“Fayose has not been my close friend since then. But today, Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s ambition has united us. Today, 18 years later, my leader and brother, former Governor Adebayo, is here to celebrate with us. I really appreciate him.”
The President of the Senate, who was present at the thanksgiving, led 18 other Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and other dignitaries to commission an event center built for the Babanboni Cathedral Church, Iyin Ekiti, by Senator Bamidele in memory of his mother.
In his address, Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, said his government remains committed to repositioning education to drive development, empower youths with qualitative and functional education, create a brighter future for them, and lay a solid foundation for a prosperous and sustainable state.
The Governor maintained that his administration places a high premium on human capital development, noting that education remains the bedrock of any thriving society, as well as a critical pillar and a roadmap to keeping Ekiti State working.
