Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has called for sweeping practical reforms to shore up the financial health of local government councils, insisting that grassroots transformation must start with fiscal discipline.
Speaking through the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Habibat Adubiaro, at a three-day workshop in Ado Ekiti on fiscal due process and revenue generation, Oyebanji declared: “We firmly believe meaningful development must begin at the grassroots. The local government is the citizens’ first port of call and its success hinges on the competence, integrity, and professionalism of those managing public funds.”
The workshop, organized by the Ministry of Local Government Affairs in partnership with Hibad Strategic Solutions Limited, zeroed in on two make-or-break areas fiscal administrative due process and enhanced internal revenue generation.
“Fiscal due process is the bedrock of good governance. It ensures public funds are managed lawfully, ethically, and transparently.
When due process is upheld, corruption shrinks, waste drops, and development outcomes soar,” Oyebanji said, adding that participants would be equipped with modern tools in financial planning, auditing, expenditure control, risk management, and revenue optimisation.
He charged officials to translate learning into tangible reforms that would strengthen local councils’ financial standing, while reaffirming his administration’s commitment to infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture, youth empowerment, digital innovation, security, and economic growth.
Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Foloruso Olabode, described the workshop as a strategic intervention to ready the workforce for evolving governance realities. He stressed that sound fiscal management, transparency, and sustainable revenue mechanisms were non-negotiable for delivering essential services and responding to citizens’ needs.
Olabode redefined revenue generation as more than just collecting money: “It’s about building efficient systems, leveraging technology, improving record-keeping, widening the tax net without increasing hardship, and earning public trust through accountability.”
He urged participants to ensure the workshop yields measurable gains tighter financial discipline, fewer leakages, better accountability, enhanced service delivery, and a tangible rise in internally generated revenue across all local councils in Ekiti State.
