Ekiti deputy governor pushes for resource control by states

Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi, has canvassed states control of resources in their domains to achieve more development.

He made the call in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, at the Pan-Yoruba Summit organised by Afenifere.

Egbeyemi said the federating units in the country would develop better, if true federalism is allowed in the polity.

In a statement yesterday by his Special Assistant on Media, Odunayo Ogunmola, he recalled that regions in the First Republic did not depend on the central government, because they controlled their agricultural and mineral resources.

The deputy governor appealed to the six states in the southwest to vote massively for President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure his re-election in the February 16 presidential election.

He lamented that overdependence on oil has made states to become lazy in other areas where they can generate revenue into their coffers.

He stressed that what the people are advocating for is the government of the people, “where we control our own resources.”

Egbeyemi, who represented Ekiti State on the board of Odu’a Investment, also called for synergy among the southwest in the areas where each of them has comparative advantage.

He called on the people to cast their votes for Buhari in appreciation of key offices held by the Yorubas, as well as projects being executed in the zone.

Guest lecturer at the event, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, said the report of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Committee on True
Federalism provides a robust agenda for urgent action on a restructured federation.

Adetunmbi said stakeholders must accept the reality that Nigeria is a country of multi-lingual and multi-ethnic diversities and the repeated calls for its restructuring is more about managing its diversity for economic prosperity, than dividing the country.

On the politics of general elections, Adetunmbi said it is only logical for the Yoruba to retain the office of the Vice President in the next dispensation, rather than the position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation as proposed by the main opposition party.

Meanwhile, the senatorial candidate of the APC in Ekiti Central district, Opeyemi Bamidele, has advised Governor Kayode Fayemi to see his victory at the tribunal as a clarion for better performance.

He urged him not to disappoint the people, adding that more than ever before, the victory should spur the governor into action to be able to develop the state and make it a pride of all.

Bamidele also implored his rival, Prof. Kolapo Olusola to shelve plan to pursue the case at the appellate court, but join Fayemi to move the state forward.