Ekiti GDP nears N8.8trn, records lowest food inflation

Ekiti Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is close to N8.8trn mark with Governor Biodun Oyebanji delighted at the state’s economic leap.

Speaking on Tuesday while delivering the annual State of the State Address at the Ekiti House of Assembly, Ado-Ekiti, the Governor noted his administration has recorded unprecedented leap in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

He noted the superlative economic turnaround has been acknowledged by Federal Government agencies, development partners and non-governmental budget and financial transparency watchdogs.

The Governor explained that figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Ekiti has the lowest inflation rate on food prices.

He attributed this to the administration’s aggressive moblisation of youths into agriculture and the setting up of the State Owned Enterprise named Ilu Eye Aggregation and Trading Company limited and “Ounje Ekiti” retail outlet.

While restating the objective of his administration to make food accessible, available and affordable, the Governor said his administration is retailing garri, beans and rice that are produced in Ekiti to the citizens and arrangements are in place to open the outlets in other LG Headquarters.

Oyebanji announced N11.7 billion has been disbursed as gratuities to 3,642 state pensioners with N36.6 billion as monthly pensions to state pensioners from October 2022 to August 2026.

 He added that his administration has also cleared pension arrears for July to September 2018 amounting to N1.140 billion.

The Governor revealed that N7.78 billion was disbursed to 2,659 beneficiaries while N35.7 billion has been paid to 11,524 local government retirees as monthly pension.

He said: “The economy of Ekiti State continues to hold an exciting promise in all ramifications. A quick summary of Ekiti’s GDP performance from the recently released NBS Report indicates that the overall State GDP moved from 2.4 trillion in 2019 to 4.6 trillion in 2023, a growth of 90%. Recent projections suggest that Ekiti GDP now inches towards the N8.8 trillion mark.

“This has moved Ekiti from the 33rd position to the 28th since APC was given the mandate to govern the state. Similarly, our contribution to the national GDP grew from 1.3% to 1.6%. Apparently, our economy is largely driven by trade, which contributed 1.7 trillion (37%), and agriculture, which contributed 1.05 trillion (23%). Both sectors contribute 60% to the state’s economy.’’