Ekiti State Government has proposed N300 million in its 2026 budget for completing the governor and deputy governor’s lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, following N470 million expended on the project from January to September 2025 alone, amid revelations that 35 state agencies received zero capital funding last year.
A review of the 2026 proposed budget confirms the fresh allocation for the ongoing construction, previously flagged in November when SaharaReporters exposed N470 million disbursed toward a N1.8 billion total valuation for Governor Biodun Oyebanji and Deputy Monisade Afuye’s facility—though state officials clarified it as finishing an inherited project from ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi, not new construction.
Ekiti’s Open Contracting Portal further details a N320 million contract awarded October 8, 2025, to the Permanent Secretary, Government House and Protocol Department, for a guest house chalet inside the Government House.
Ekiti’s audited financial statement for 2024 exposes stark disparities, with 35 agencies allocated a combined N3.3 billion capital budget yet receiving nothing, including core bodies like Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Deputy Governor’s Office; Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital; Ministry of Local Government Affairs; and Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission. Others starved include Independent Project Monitoring Office, Ekiti State Mortgage Board, Capital Development Authority, Ministry of Information, Ekiti Drugs and Health Supply Management, and Ekiti State Library Board.
This funding drought persists despite billions funneled into airport infrastructure via contracts to “Permanent Secretaries,” such as N3.3 billion for an Instrument Landing System at Ekiti Cargo Airport (Ministry of Transportation); N281.731 million for internal electrification and a 1MVA transformer; N275.9 million for terminal floodlights/solar streetlights; and N280 million for a 33KVA line extension from Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti.
Additional awards encompass N75.1 million for an 18-seater bus and motorcycles; N45 million for a meteorological station; N75.3 million for police portacabins; N42.9 million for airline offices; N31 million for observation spots; and dual N1.162 billion contracts for airport equipment—totaling over N6 billion.
The lodge push draws scrutiny amid public demands for fiscal prudence, especially as Governor Oyebanji’s administration prioritizes elite accommodations while essential services lag. State spokesman Taiwo Olatunbosun rebutted earlier coverage, insisting: “Contrary to claims… the budgetary provision does not relate to the construction of a new building, but to the completion of the existing Abuja Governor’s Lodge, an ongoing project inherited… [which] could not be completed earlier due to inadequate budgetary allocations.”
He emphasized: “If personal comfort had been his priority, he would have completed the project within his first year… underscoring the governor’s modesty, prudence, and focus on the welfare and development of Ekiti people.”
Olatunbosun affirmed the lodge as “a permanent State property meant for the use of successive administrations, not a private residence,” urging disregard of “unfounded and sensational claims.”
Yet the pattern—N770 million total on Abuja lodges in under two years—fuels debates on resource allocation as Ekiti battles infrastructure deficits.
