The governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, denied this on Sunday. He also denied that the governor was accompanied on the trip by 20 officials.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji-led Ekiti State Government has denied spending $500,000 of the state resources on the governor's trip to the United States.
The governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, denied this on Sunday. He also denied that the governor was accompanied on the trip by 20 officials.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that sources said Governor Oyebanji’s extended trip to the US was a jamboree.
The governor has yet to return to Nigeria over two weeks after leaving for a 4-Day US conference and sources said the trip had cost the state over $500,000.
SaharaReporters last Thursday reported that Governor Oyebanji 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.
The US trip was also announced in an official press statement put on the state government’s website.
But the state government, in its reaction to the report, in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Oyebode, said Oyebanji was holding talks with critical stakeholders and business leaders in the US and would soon return to the state.
Reacting to the latest report, Oyebode said, “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 at the completion of the outlined tasks.
“It is important to place on record that Biodun Oyebanji remains focused on all-round development of Ekiti State through effective implementation of his six-pillar development agenda.”