ADO-EKITI- Elder statesman and Chairman of the Committee for the Creation of Ekiti State, Chief Deji Fasuan, says the state is still on course, in terms of actualising the vision of its founding fathers.
Fasuan, who also turned 92 on Sunday, when the state marked its 27th anniversary, expressed satisfaction that the state was making gradual progress against all odds, since it was created in 1996.
The elder statesman spoke during an interactive session with newsmen, when Gov. Biodun Oyebanji came to congratulate him on his birthday in his residence in Ado-Ekiti on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oyebanji was the Secretary of the state creation committee, while Fasuan was Chairman.
Fasuan reviewed the socioeconomic development the state had so far recorded since its creation.
According to him, the existence of a state, named after Ekiti people, had justified the efforts and sacrifice made by those who worked for its creation.
He recalled the ordeal his committee suffered and admitted that the emergence of its secretary as governor further raised the hope that the development envisioned by the founding fathers would be actualised faster.
He said that he was satisfied that the people were getting the type of attention and development they clamoured for.
He argued that Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, had become more cosmopolitan just like some other major towns with successive governments investing in infrastructure upgrade.
He commended the governor for his progressive initiatives towards bringing more development to the state and urged the people to support his efforts to realize his vision for the state.
Fasuan said that the governor understood the vision of the founding fathers and was working tirelessly to actualise an enviable state.
In a remark, the governor, thanked nonagenarian for leading notable Ekiti leaders in ensuring that the people got a state.
Oyebanji said that the creation of Ekiti had brought a lot of development to the area, adding that the dream and vision of the founding fathers to have a state that would be a source of pride to all were being achieved.
He said that the state had assumed its proper pride of place in the comity of states across the country by building a formidable profile of a progressive and development- oriented state poised for inclusive prosperity for all.
He congratulated Fasuan on his birthday, saying that history would forever be kind to him for the notable role he played in the struggle for the creation and development of the state.
“I’ m just grateful to God that he is alive, just 27 years ago on a day like this we all gathered here to listen to the presidential broadcast that gave birth to Ekiti.
“It is 27 years of development, we have not remained on the same spot.
“As a people, we have carved an identity for ourselves and that is what is most important in the Nigeria political space,” the governor said. (NAN)
