Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State has announced the establishment of a Bureau of Local Content and Citizenship aimed at promoting the engagement of local contractors and workers.
The proposed bureau intends to empower competent Ekiti contractors, prevent capital flight, and foster the growth of the local economy.
Governor Oyebanji shared this plan during the inauguration of the N384m chamber of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers in Ado Ekiti.
The governor praised the State Bureau of Special Projects for taking over the construction of the chamber when the initial contractor failed to comply with the government’s rejection of an unacceptable variation presented after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The newly inaugurated chamber is well-equipped to accommodate 145 monarchs simultaneously, furnished with quality furniture and electronic devices to facilitate meetings.
The governor said: “The vision of this government is to ensure that we keep our resources within our state. There shall be no capital flight; the job opportunities platform will be reserved for the Ekiti people. If you don’t have an Ekiti person that is based in Ekiti here, there must be an Ekiti person outside the state that can do that job.
“Very soon, we are going to put in place a Bureau of Local Content and Citizenship to ensure that contractors in the state adhere to this policy. With that, any contractor that is not ready to engage Ekiti citizens that are capable on their sites is not ready to do jobs here.”
