SaharaReporters reported earlier on Thursday that Governor Oyebanji failed to return to Nigeria nearly two weeks after he left for a four-day conference in Texas, US.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State is holding talks with critical stakeholders in his trip to the United States, his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode has revealed, adding that the governor will soon be back to the state.
SaharaReporters reported earlier on Thursday that Governor Oyebanji failed to return to Nigeria nearly two weeks after he left for a four-day conference in Texas, US.
The governor had left Nigeria on Sunday, May 5, 2024 to attend the 16th edition of the US-Africa Business Summit organised by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), in Dallas, Texas between May 6 and 9, 2024, it was reported.
The US trip was also announced in an official press statement put on the state government’s website, which was signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode.
SaharaReporters gathered on Thursday that the governor was still in the US and there has been no official information providing the details of any official engagements or meetings held by the governor since the conference ended on May 9, beyond claims that Oyebanji would “hold discussions with critical stakeholders and business leaders in the US”.
There has no official information or provision of any pictures of meetings the governor held with the business leaders nor the names of such persons.
A source had told SaharaReporters on Thursday that the governor was supposed to have returned but was surprised that he was still away.
But reacting to the report, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Oyebode insisted that all local and international engagements and trips of the governor had always been made public.
The statement partly read: "It is on record that the itinerary of the Governor was made public through a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode on May 5, 2024.
"The statement, which was circulated in both the traditional and social media, indicated that Governor Oyebanji would, during the trip, participate in the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas and the nineteenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF19) in New- York.
"The statement also indicated that the Governor was scheduled to hold talks with critical stakeholders, business leaders and development partners in furtherance of the shared prosperity agenda of the administration, before returning to the country."
He added, "Highlights of the Governor’s engagements in the US are regularly communicated to the people of the state through media reports. These include his panel presentations, engagements with business leaders and development partners as well as the signing of the multi billion naira 100,000 hectares cassava farm with CAVISTA Holdings. The engagements continue till his return date.
"In line with the transparency and accountability policy of the administration, all local and international engagements and trips of the Governor have always been made public. And this current one is not an exception.
"It is on record that the current US trip of the Governor is the first outside the Continent since assuming office on October 16, 2022. The first trip outside the country was a UNDP sponsored induction programme for Governors held in Kigali; followed by the Afrexim Meeting in Cairo, where the state got a very significant infrastructure support from the bank."