The Ekiti State Government has requested N175.75 billion from the Natural Resources Development Fund to finance key projects aimed at diversifying the state’s economy, with a focus on agriculture, solid minerals, and tourism.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji disclosed this during a meeting with officials of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday.
The RMAFC team, led by Ambassador Desmond Akawor, visited the state to assess its request and conduct a feasibility review.
Speaking through his Chief of Staff, Niyi Adebayo, Oyebanji said the grant would help position Ekiti as a hub for sustainable development and economic independence, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The governor said, “Ekiti is a state that is well known not just for education, but for its integrity and honour. As you know, apart from education, the next most important thing is agriculture, historically, because it employs most of our people, where our GDP also derives more than half, as of today, of this component.
“But just as His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has also expressed glowingly, we need to diversify the economy, and Ekiti is also working along this line. And one of the things we like about the President is that whenever he says something, he actually puts action to it.
“Basically the entire state is a tourism site because when you drive around and you see the undulating terrain, the hills and all of that, you actually marvel at what God has really blessed us with. We also have pockets of other land forms. We have caves. We have some of those other locations that we can actually work on. Once this comes in, you will see that the money will be effectively utilized and we shall do more in the area of tourism development.”
Akawor, who chairs the Commission’s Committee on Fiscal Efficiency and Budget, said the request falls under the 1.68 per cent statutory allocation set aside for natural resource development in Nigeria.
He described tourism as a “goldmine” and urged the state to focus on projects capable of generating internal revenue.
He also stressed that such projects the state is expected to engage in should be the ones that are capable of generating revenue for the state in the drive to boost its economy outside the federal allocation.
The Chairman, however, revealed that “what the committee has seen in Ekiti has been quite impressive”, especially in the area of tourism and hopes to make its recommendation to the Federal Government for necessary approval.
Also at the meeting were the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Femi Ajayi; Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Ebenezer Boluwade; Commissioner for Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, Mrs Tayo Adeola, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode and the Director General EKDIPA, Ms Lolade Oduwole, Director General, Bureau of Tourism Development, Amb Wale Ojo-Lanre; among others.
