Ekiti State Government Comments on Claims Governor Oyebanji Spent $500,000 on US Trip

Ekiti State Government has dismissed the claim that Governor Biodun Oyebanji spent $500,000 of state resources on his ongoing working visit to the United States.

Some online reports claimed that Oyebanji was on a frivolous trip in the United States and had failed to return in two weeks despite travelling for a four-day event.

The reports also alleged that the trip, which included 20 people in the Governor’s entourage, had cost $500,000 in taxpayers’ money.

However, the Governor, in a statement on Sunday through his Special Adviser (Media), Yinka Oyebode, said the allegations were untrue.

Oyebode clarified that it was also false that the Governor had 20 persons on the trip to the US, stressing that the figures reported online were fictitious and existed only in the imagination of the publishers and sponsors of the claim.

He stated that the state government would not succumb to blackmail, adding that Oyebanji remained committed to his administration’s shared prosperity agenda, and “a thousand and one lies and sponsored stories” could not distract him.

He added, “We urge well-meaning citizens of the state and Nigerians in general to disregard the dubious publication, which is bereft of substance.

“As a responsible government, we also consider it appropriate to re-state here that Governor Oyebanji followed due protocols in embarking on the trip, which was well publicised.

“He has not exceeded the time allocated for the trip. He has not derailed from the purpose of the trip and he will be back in the country this week after the outlined tasks.

“It is important to place on record that Biodun Oyebanji remains focused on the all-round development of Ekiti State through effective implementation of his six-pillar development agenda.”