Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has appealed to Nigerians to stop making negative comments and confessions about the country.

The governor also enjoined the people to support President Bola Tinubu in his avowed determination to achieve a positive turnaround in Nigeria’s fortunes and ensure its people enjoy a better standard of living.

The governor, who made the remarks on Thursday at the 2025 Interfaith Thanksgiving Service held at the main theatre of the Obafemi Awolowo Civic and Convention Centre, Ado-Ekiti, said Nigerians should be grateful to God for giving them a courageous leader in President Tinubu.

He noted that Tinubu is unafraid to make decisions in the overall interest of the masses.

Tinubu, according to him, means well for Nigerians with his reforms, which he said are beginning to yield expected dividends.

Oyebanji also used the occasion of the interfaith service to restate his commitment to working harder for the development and prosperity of Ekiti State.

Acknowledging the commendation of clerics at the interfaith thanksgiving service for his handling of state affairs, Oyebanji said he has no excuse not to live up to the expectations of the people, noting that God had prepared him well for the role through his years of governance experience.

Oyebanji hailed the people of the state for investing their goodwill in the All Progressives Congress (APC) through their votes, which gave him the privilege of serving as their chief servant, leading dedicated men and women making sacrifices for the state’s growth and development.

“As the chief servant of the people, I make a promise again before God and all of you here today that I will serve you with every fiber of my being and every ounce of energy. I will serve you in truth and with the fear of God. 2025 will be our year of accelerated growth and development as a state and individually,” he said.

The governor attributed the recent increase in allocation to the state—which has resulted in increased salaries for civil servants, welfare packages for citizens not on the government payroll, and ongoing and completed projects—to Tinubu’s magnanimity in approving the increment after the removal of fuel subsidies.

Oyebanji expressed gratitude to Tinubu “for showing immense grace to him and to Ekiti people,” saying, “After God, whatever we have achieved is through the President, because when you find favor in the President’s eyes, it translates to good things for our people.”

The Ekiti helmsman noted that Tinubu’s policy shift is now being appreciated in quarters that initially misunderstood him, citing THISDAY Newspaper’s decision to name the President as Man of the Year in recognition of his bold and courageous decisions in the public interest.

Oyebanji said: “Please, let us continue to support our President because it is in our interest to do so. We must thank God that He made him President for a time like this. One of my happiest moments was yesterday (Wednesday) when I woke up and saw THISDAY Newspaper declaring Mr. President as their Man of the Year. THISDAY and ARISE TV are highly critical of the President, yet they acknowledged his courage and strong will.

“If that commendation is coming from opposition elements, then we owe it a duty to support the President. The President is human. If we continue to support him, he will do more, and we are already seeing positive developments from his actions.

“We are able to do what we are doing in Ekiti State because of the increase in allocations at all levels. These allocations wouldn’t have been possible if the President had not removed the fuel subsidy. These are painful decisions, but no country eats its yam sets without consequences. What President Tinubu is telling us is that we should not eat our yam sets; we should invest them.”

Speaking further, Oyebanji said: “As we enter 2025, our confessions about Nigeria should be positive. Many of us make negative comments about our nation, but there is power in our tongues. Let us speak positively about our own Jerusalem, which is Nigeria, so that all of us will find peace.”

He urged well-endowed Ekiti sons and fathers at home and in the Diaspora to emulate the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), in mobilizing support for the state government by leveraging their influence, resources, and goodwill.

He said the two frontline citizens have been consistent in their support for the state, adding that the state would appreciate more of such support from other well-endowed Ekiti indigenes.

The service featured songs of praise, readings from the Bible and the Qur’an, as well as sermons and prayers by Muslim and Christian clerics.