Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has reiterated that his administration would promote an enabling environment for private investors to thrive, to ensure that owners of landed properties in the state enjoy appreciable turnover on their assets.
During a courtesy visit by council members of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) at the Governor’s Office, Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Monday, the governor noted that, with the level of investors visiting the state to invest in real estate. He envisioned the possibility of turning barren lands into a bustling commercial hub in the near future.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, a major highlight of the visit by the NIESV leadership was Oyebanji’s investiture as patron of the reputable professional body.
Oyebanji, who spoke shortly after his investiture by the institution’s President/Chairman of Council, Dr. Victor Alonge, expressed his appreciation to the professional body for the honour and promised to live up to the expectations and standards desired of a patron by collaborating with the institution to achieve its goals and objectives nationally and at the state level.
While assuring the institution of his administration’s support and collaboration, the governor commended the state’s team for their professionalism and for providing strong and quality leadership for its members, and effective advice for the government to drive its policy formulation.
He said: ‘One area that we’ve been challenged with is the issue of land administration in the state, and we’ve embarked on an ambitious and massive land reform in the state to ensure that we digitise the system and put everything on a cadastral. And it’s going on now with the help of Prof. James Olaleye. I think that by the time we finish, anybody who has land in the state will have a bankable asset. It’s been tough, it’s been capital-intensive, but it’s something we need to do because I believe strongly that land is one asset that if not carefully managed, you know. It can make or mar a people.
‘One thing we have also done as a government, and it’s a policy that if we are going to take over your land, which is your asset, we have to compensate. We have not taken over any land asset in the state without paying compensation because I believe strongly that if I’m going to take your means of livelihood, I must provide an alternative for you to live, so you cannot say you are developing and you are impoverishing your people. So, as a policy of government, there’s nothing we have done in this state when it comes to land acquisition, we pay compensation’.
Earlier,Alonge said the state, under Oyebanji, is a rising citadel of progress undergoing rapid development and transformation. This, according to him, has catapulted the governor into national relevance, made him a canvass for the artistry of good governance and a reference point in raising the bar of governance.
Alonge said that the NIESV council approved the decoration of the governor as its patron in recognition of his giant developmental strides at showcasing developmental initiatives in areas such as massive infrastructural development, agriculture and food security; industrialisation, security; welfare initiatives, functional education; provision of accessible and quality health care as well as initiating enduring policies that will stand the test of time and capable to outlive his administration.
He noted that Oyebanji has made the state an investment destination, stressing the need to continue to partner with the government in policy formulation, land administration, asset management and administration, housing, project development and other related areas. He added that the institution will continue to offer the state its professional services in the best global practices, upholding the institution’s Code of Professional Ethics.
