. Oyebanji inaugurates Ekiti builders’market

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

Ekiti State Government will expend a total of N1,179,235,500.00 as running grants for primary and secondary schools as well as Technical Colleges and the three Government Special Schools in the state for the 2024/2025 session alone.

Also, in a bid to enhance commercial activities and provide a central location for sourcing building materials in the state, Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has inaugurated a newly completed ultra-modern market for building materials, describing it as a milestone achievement in the state drive towards economic growth and infrastructure development.

The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Taiwo Olatunbosun, who made this known in Ado Ekiti, said that  N11,306,760,012.54 was expended on renovation and construction of facilities in all the 203 public secondary schools under the World Bank supported Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.

He added that the government also paid N6,154,879,897.36 as counterpart fund to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for its 2022, 2023 and 2024 projects in the 927 public primary schools in the state while N16,388,047.77 was spent on Procurement of Continuous Assess Documents for public secondary schools and N174,032,505.00 for instructional materials for Primary Schools among others.

Giving a breakdown of disbursement of running grants since the inception of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration, Olatunbosun said the 203 public secondary schools in the State were given N214,479,000.00 for the 2022/2023 session, N235,157,400.00 for 2023/2024 session and N602,356,500.00 for 2024/2025 session while the primary schools got N101,419,200.00 for 2022/2023, N109,854,900.00 in 2023/2024 and N381,258,000.00 for 2024/2025, adding that the Technical Colleges took N6,774,300.00 in 2022/2023, N5,981,400.00 in 2023/2024 and N10,737,000.00 in 2024/2025.

According to him, the three Government Special Schools are paid N15,407,000.00 monthly as grants for feeding and maintenance with facilities in the schools upgraded to ensure operational efficiency while professional therapists, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists were engaged to provide remediation services for the PWDs pupils/students in the schools.

He highlighted some of government’s interventions in public secondary schools in the state to include renovation of 1,135 classrooms and construction of 83 new classrooms, construction of 419 new toilets and renovation of 277 existing ones, drilled 32 boreholes and rehabilitated eight for improved water access.

Olatunbosun said the state also renovated, furnished and equipped 18 libraries, 105 science laboratories, 67 multi-purpose halls and constructed perimeter fencing of 46 schools while 2,978 units of school furniture and learning materials were procured and distributed.

Stressing the need for all stakeholders to reciprocate and support the efforts of the Oyebanji administration to rapidly develop the State and provide access to inclusive qualitative education in conducive teaching and learning environment for all, Olatunbosun solicited the involvement of all and sundry in protecting public property in their respective areas for proper maintenance and sustainability.

He reiterated the commitment of the present administration to the provision of free, qualitative and compulsory education for school-age children in the state, adding that the state government had invested so much in the sector and all parties should join hands to protect the investment in order to genuinely achieve the desired goal.

The government spokesman said protecting public property like schools would enhance safety and well-being, stressing that well-maintained public property reduces hazards and contributes to a safer environment for residents, while conversely, neglected or damaged property can pose risks and even attract criminal activity.

He also cautioned principals and head-teachers of public schools to shun corruption and any form of sharp practices, stressing that it would be wrong for anybody to misrepresent issues under any guise to possibly attract donations from individuals, group of people, philanthropists or association without consideration to the unjustifiable effect on the image of the government.

Meanwhile, in a bid to enhance commercial activities and provide a central location for sourcing building materials in the state, Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has inaugurated a newly completed ultra-modern market for building materials, describing it as a milestone achievement in the state drive towards economic growth and infrastructure development.

The market, which is a Public- Private  Partnership (PPP) project between Ekiti State Government, through its trading arm, Fountain Holdings Limited, and New Frontier Development Limited, comprises 191 lock-up shops, security  post, cafeteria, clinic, car parks, warehouse, among others.

Speaking while inaugurating the market complex  at the weekend in Ado Ekiti, Governor Oyebanji said the project is in line with his administration’s commitment to creating enabling environment for business to thrive, adding that the market would not only ease access to building materials but also stimulate local trading, create job, and boost the internally generated revenue.

Oyebanji, who noted that before the intervention, traders in building materials operated in scattered and unregulated spaces, making it difficult for customers to access what they need in one place, said the new market would also address the gap by bringing all categories of building materials dealers together under one roof, thereby promoting convenience, orderliness, and safety in original and commercial transactions

The governor said: “The building materials sector played a critical role in the growth of our construction industry by providing a centralised, well organised place for business. We are not only improving access to quality building materials, we are creating an enabling environment for small and medium enterprises.”

While commending the main partner, New Frontier Development Limited, for delivering the project within record time, the governor charged traders and shop owners to maintain the facilities, adhere to environmental standards, and work together to make the market a model for other commercial centres in the state.

“The state government has made several efforts to provide a conducive atmosphere for traders within Ado Ekiti metropolis by providing alternative but conducive market space that will not hinder the flow of traffic at the city centre, which helped us to manifest the free flow of traffic at the popular Atikankan market, as we moved the traders to the new Shasha market. The advantage of this new local market is that it will provide a work structure for builders thereby creating a synergy between the builders and the traders.

”To our youths, women and artisans, let this market be a reminder that there is opportunity in hard work, dignity in enterprise and hope in the promise of a better tomorrow. Our administration will continue to roll out initiatives, support you through skill acquisition, access to finance and infrastructural support,” the governor asserted.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Fountain Holdings Limited, Mr. Adetunji Tolani, who described the market as a testament to the power of strategic partnership, said project was in response to the growing demand for a well-organized commercial hub where building materials could be accessed in a single location.

While explaining that the market was designed with the end users in mind, incorporating essential infrastructure such as power supply, security, cafeteria and convenience facilities to ensure a functional and business-friendly environment, Tolani said fountain holding remains committed to driving impactful projects that align with the administration’s development agenda.

Also speaking on behalf of Managing Director of New Frontier Development Limited, the Executive Director, Salma Muhamed, who expressed pride in the successful completion and inauguration of the builders market, described it as a model project that demonstrates what can be achieved when the public and private sector collaborate effectively, noting that the company was motivated by a shared vision to contribute meaningfully to the growth of Ekiti State through quality infrastructure development.

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