Oyebanji’s Industrialisation Blueprint for Ekiti’s Economic Transformation

Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State has unveiled his agenda to transform the State acclaimed as the ‘fountain of knowledge’ from a largely agrarian state to an industrial hub. Gbenga Sodeinde writes.

For years, the development story of Nigerian states has largely been measured by the roads constructed, bridges completed and public infrastructure delivered. But as fiscal pressures mount and states are compelled to build more productive economies, the real test of leadership is increasingly shifting from infrastructure delivery to wealth creation.

It is against this changing economic landscape that Governor Biodun Oyebanji is redefining the next phase of Ekiti’s development.

Having spent his first term laying the physical foundation for growth through road expansion, electricity projects, agricultural interventions and improved connectivity, Oyebanji says his second term will focus on converting those investments into industries, stronger businesses and sustainable economic opportunities.

In an interview, the governor unveiled an economic blueprint anchored on industrialisation, local processing of agricultural products, private-sector investment and support for small businesses, declaring that the state’s next major priority is to build an economy driven by productivity.

“Our next major focus, therefore, is industrialisation and support for small businesses. That is the only way we can deepen our shared prosperity agenda,” Oyebanji said.

The declaration marks a significant shift in the administration’s development strategy — from building the infrastructure required for growth to ensuring that those assets begin to generate jobs, expand enterprises and improve the livelihoods of Ekiti residents.

At the heart of the blueprint is the conviction that infrastructure, however essential, cannot by itself deliver prosperity. Roads, electricity connections, farm access routes, water systems and an upgraded airport must ultimately serve as platforms for production, investment and enterprise. For Oyebanji, the next phase of governance will therefore be judged not merely by the scale of public works completed, but by the economic activity those projects unlock.

During his first term, the administration constructed and rehabilitated roads, connected previously underserved communities to electricity, improved township and farm roads, and strengthened the foundations of agricultural production. By the end of the year, the governor said, the state would have completed close to 400 kilometres of roads. Those interventions, he argued, were necessary to create the conditions for a more productive economy.

The second-term agenda is designed to build upon that foundation. Oyebanji wants agricultural commodities produced in Ekiti to be processed within the state rather than exported in raw form, thereby creating additional value, expanding local supply chains and generating employment.

The objective is to move from production without sufficient value addition to an integrated economic system in which farmers, processors, manufacturers, transport operators and small businesses participate in a shared cycle of growth.

“Our farmers must also be able to produce at scale and have reliable off-takers who can purchase their produce and supply it to companies that will add value through processing,” he said.

That ambition is already reflected in the state’s emerging agro-industrial landscape. The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone has attracted significant investment, with businesses committing billions of naira to agricultural production and processing. Companies such as Arog Agro-Allied and Agbeyewa Farms are part of this expanding ecosystem, while the latter’s large-scale cassava operation has been described as one of the biggest of its kind in the world.

The administration is also seeking to improve access to these investment corridors. The award of the Ayetoro-Iyemero Ekiti road project is intended to open up the area, facilitate the movement of goods and strengthen the connection between agricultural production zones and markets.

Ekiti’s selection by the African Development Bank as a Tier-2 state under the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone programme further reinforces the government’s strategy. Studies are being conducted on Itapaji Dam to assess the possibility of developing irrigation facilities, an intervention that could improve year-round farming, raise productivity and make the state more attractive to agro-processors.

Yet, the governor recognises that industrialisation cannot be achieved through agriculture alone. It requires a broader investment ecosystem supported by efficient institutions, predictable regulations, accessible land, reasonable taxation and reliable infrastructure.

To this end, the administration is reforming its investment promotion agency and establishing a one-stop shop for investors. The initiative is expected to simplify the process of obtaining approvals, accessing information and navigating government procedures. Land administration is also being reformed, while taxation is being streamlined to prevent excessive burdens on businesses and residents.

“Capital will flow to any place where it is treated well,” Oyebanji said, stressing that the responsibility of government is to create the conditions in which private investment can thrive.

The governor’s approach reflects a deliberate preference for enabling private enterprise rather than placing the state at the centre of industrial production. Government, he explained, is not necessarily expected to establish industries itself; its primary responsibility is to provide the infrastructure, security, policies and institutional support that encourage investors to commit capital and create jobs.

That philosophy extends to the transportation sector, where the administration is attempting to balance the need for affordable mobility with the survival of existing operators. Rather than displacing members of transport unions and other associations, the government plans to introduce fair competition through a pilot mass transit scheme.

If the pilot succeeds, more vehicles will be procured to expand the programme. But the governor believes that a lasting reduction in transport costs will require a transition away from petrol-dependent vehicles towards Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses, electric vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles.

Such a transition, however, will require more than the procurement of vehicles. It will demand conversion centres, refuelling stations, charging points and a supporting energy infrastructure capable of sustaining the new transport system. The administration is therefore engaging private companies to develop the necessary facilities and roll out cleaner, more affordable mobility options across the state.

The airport is another critical component of the economic blueprint. Oyebanji wants the facility to operate around the clock, rather than close at 6 p.m. or remain inaccessible to aircraft during adverse weather conditions. The installation of an Instrument Landing System is being assessed by a certification team, while contracts have been awarded for airport lighting infrastructure.

Once completed, the interventions are expected to enable night operations and improve the airport’s reliability. The commissioning of a private-sector fuel depot will further strengthen its commercial potential by allowing aircraft to refuel in Ekiti, making the facility more attractive to airlines and improving the viability of scheduled operations.

For the governor, these projects are not isolated infrastructure schemes. They are components of a wider economic strategy intended to connect Ekiti to regional markets, reduce logistical constraints and support the movement of people, goods and capital.

The same productivity-centred philosophy informs the administration’s plans for small businesses. Oyebanji identified welders, tailors, hairdressers, barbers and other small-scale entrepreneurs as essential participants in the state’s economic transformation. These businesses, he said, must have access to affordable financing if they are to expand, employ more people and contribute meaningfully to shared prosperity.

The challenge is to ensure that the benefits of industrialisation do not remain concentrated among large investors. A productive economy must also create opportunities for informal operators, women traders, artisans, farmers and young entrepreneurs. This is why the administration’s economic agenda is linked to its gender policy and its broader commitment to reducing discrimination and expanding women’s access to markets and enterprise opportunities.

Oyebanji also acknowledged that development cannot be sustained without effective urban planning and environmental management. The recent flooding in Ado-Ekiti, he said, was largely man-made, worsened by indiscriminate refuse disposal and the construction of buildings on waterways. The government has directed the Ministry of Environment to conduct a comprehensive inventory of structures obstructing waterways, with illegally constructed buildings facing removal.

The decision is politically sensitive, particularly where property owners claim to have obtained official approvals. But the governor insists that decisive action is necessary to prevent more severe flooding in the future. The administration intends to distinguish between buildings that received formal approval and those erected illegally, with compensation considered where applicable and unlawful structures removed.

Water supply remains another major challenge. Although Ekiti has four functioning dams and has benefited from World Bank intervention, the governor said the difficulties extend beyond the dams and pumping equipment. Ageing asbestos pipes, high energy costs, inadequate reticulation and consumer resistance to paying for water have all weakened the distribution system.

The administration has replaced pumps, procured generators and begun replacing obsolete pipes. It has also established water consumers’ committees to improve community participation and accountability. In the second term, the focus will be on rehabilitating the distribution network so that water pumped into reservoirs can reach households and businesses efficiently.

Taken together, these initiatives reveal an administration attempting to move Ekiti from a phase of foundational construction into one of economic activation. The roads, airport, dams, agricultural zones and electricity projects are being repositioned as instruments of production rather than ends in themselves.

The governor’s re-election, secured with 85.45 per cent of the votes cast, has given the administration a strong political mandate. But it has also raised expectations. The central question now is whether the infrastructure delivered during the first term can translate into factories, processing plants, stronger small businesses, lower transport costs, expanded agricultural value chains and more jobs.

Oyebanji’s answer is that the state’s future depends on productivity. His second-term agenda is therefore not simply a continuation of the first, but an attempt to convert public investment into private enterprise, agricultural output into industrial value and infrastructure into broad-based prosperity.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that our economy becomes more productive,” he said.

For Ekiti, the success of that promise will be measured not only by what government builds, but by what the people are able to produce, process, sell and earn from the economic foundations now being laid.