President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not the architect of the current downtown in Nigeria’s economy.
Ekiti State governor, Biodun Oyebanji on Friday absolved Tinubu of blame for the prevailing hardship in the country.
He said the situation preceded his coming to office, urging Nigerians to understand the challenges Nigeria faced before Tinubu came to power mid-2023.
He, however, reiterated his confidence in the President’s ability to fix the current challenges if given ample time and necessary support.
Governor Oyebanji stated this during the monthly Evening of Praise and Worship programme held at the Lady Jibowu Hall, Government House, Ado-Ekiti.
He urged Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government as the problem the country was facing had been there long before the President emerged.
The governor called on Nigerians to continue to pray for the President and his government so that the various decisions they would make would be in the interest of the people.
He also urged them to always maintain peace and decorum as the President had continued to lessen the burden of economic hardship on the people with his various people-oriented programmes and policies.
While reminding the people that palliatives would not bring permanent solution to the food crisis, Governor Oyebanji called on every Nigerian to embrace farming and become productive in their own little way, and in the process support the growth and development of the country.
The governor assured Ekiti people that the state would soon experience food sufficiency and become the food basket of the country, judging by the various programmes his administration was putting in place.
He likened the case of Nigeria to the case of the Israelites where God took them from Egypt to the promise land flowing with milk and honey believing that Nigeria would soon experience abundance of all the good things the citizens had been craving for.
“I just want to encourage us today as children of God to keep faith in God and to also amplify our prayers for Nigeria, for Ekiti state and for the President. I understand what we are going through, but the truth of the matter is that the President is not the cause of these crises but God has prepared him for a time like this. What he needs is our support, our prayers, our understanding and encouragement.
“I am just pleading with us that the President needs our help, he needs our prayers, we should not do anything to discourage him. We should thank God that we have a man of courage, a man God had prepared for a time like this, I believe in God that we will get out of this problem and when the time comes and the dividends of these reforms are unraveled, all of us will be alive.
“I thank Ekiti people for maintaining peace and I promise that we’ll continue to lessen these burdens, but the truth of the matter, which many people don’t want to listen to is that palliatives will not solve these problems, it can only be a temporary measure, when you give someone a bag of rice, in two weeks it would have finished.
“We have embarked on a programme that by next year, we will have food sufficiency in this state, because, if we don’t make haste now, I pray next year will not be worse than this. We must be able to grow ourselves out of hunger, which is what the President told us last week”, the governor said.
Government, he said, would do its own bit, but Nigerians have to go back to the farm, saying “So, no matter how small, let’s start bit by bit, you have to grow what you will eat and at least be able to feed ourselves.”
Also at the evening of praise were the deputy governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye; wife of the governor and convener of the programme, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji; Secretary to the State Government, Dr Habibat Adubiaro; Head of Service, Engr. Sunday Komolafe and top government officials among others.
