According to Fayemi, ‘’Ekiti State has lived with the challenge of having a befitting Government House since the state was created on October 1, 1996. The first Military Administrator, as he was designated, Col. Inua Bawa (rtd), was holed-up in a borrowed apartment before building an official residence with bricks sourced from Ire-Ekiti Burnt Bricks Factory.
‘’Successive
administrations since then made do with some buildings in the Government House
complex, including the present abode of the state’s number one citizen known as
the Osuntokun Lodge. The fact that the Lodge lacked many facilities befitting
of the residence of a governor and therefore “very inferior” to other
Government Houses in the country; made the need for a new Government House in
Ekiti very imperative.
‘’This inadequacy came even
more to the fore at the death of the former Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmilayo
Olayinka, with guests pouring in from all over the country to commiserate with
the government and people of the state on the monumental loss. To add to the
state’s sorrow, the governor could not receive two sets of guests at the same
time.
‘’But that rather
embarrassing experience has become history with the construction of the new Government House
situated on the Ayoba Hills in Ado-Ekiti, the new edifice, like the biblical
“House on a Hill” can be seen from all parts of the city.
‘’While dismissing the
claims of the opposition that the project is self-serving, Fayemi argued that
the new Government House belongs to the people of Ekiti and not his personal
property.
‘’He added that it would continue to serve as the official residence of all coming governors, long after he would have left office. The new Government house, will go down as an important statement of the New Ekiti that the Fayemi administration has always thought possible: It is an Ekiti State that plays second fiddle to none.’’
Vanguard
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