Upon the creation of Ekiti State out of the old Ondo State, Ekiti indigenes in the civil service of their former state were literally kicked out of their offices including those working at the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation - OSRC. It also became difficult if not impossible for the government of the new state to get its activities broadcast both on the radio and television channels of OSRC.
The hostility spurred the can-do-spirit in Ekitikete and "àjẹ́ engineers at the newly established Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State - BSES under the leadership of Engr Tunde Erin now of blessed memory, worked day and night for about a fortnight and upgraded the OSRC Booster Station at Ifaki Ekiti to a full fledged AM radio station and Col Bawa christened the station, Voice of Ekiti - VOE.
This is the station that employed me in January 1998 with its headquarters at Okeyinmi in Ado Ekiti and the studios at Ifaki Ekiti. In the hey days of the BSES, news bulletins and most programmes were prepared or recorded in Ado Ekiti and read or presented live on VOE at Ifaki Ekiti.
For contingency reasons, News bulletins were sometimes sent to Ifaki Ekiti via commercial vehicles plying the Ado Ekiti - Oye Ekiti route and in a few cases, some bulletins never got delivered.
During one of the familiarisation tours of Navy Captain Yusuf to Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs under his administration, we found ourselves at Ifaki Ekiti which was the MILAD's maiden visit to VOE.
A versatile Yoruba presenter, Mr Bejide was on air when the Chief Executive of the state was ushered into the Continuity Studio and the Yoruba programme was ended abruptly and arrangement was made for my humble self to interview the MILAD live on radio.
One question resonated with listeners during the impromptu interview session as events later showed. I asked Captain Yusuf respectfully, "Your Excellency, when will Ekiti State get an FM station which is now in vogue as AM broadcasting is gradually becoming obsolete? I almost had not finished the question when he replied that the state would continue to make do with what it had. The executive interview ended and the MILAD entourage returned to base - Government House in Ado Ekiti which served the dual purpose of office and residence to the Chief Executive of the state.
I had forgotten that I raised an issue on FM/AM during the interview at VOE when the MILAD sent for me about a week or so after his familiarisation visit to the radio station at Ifaki Ekiti. When I got to his office, Captain Yusuf said, smiling, "VOE" that's what he called me, the acronym of the radio station I reported for, "I am going to build an FM station and it will be on air before hand over date". He spoke further why he made a U-turn on his previous position on the establishment of an FM station. The MILAD narrated how he went to a drinking joint disguised and people there were discussing about the Yoruba Military Administrator and how they were not happy about the answer the MILAD gave during a live interview on radio that Ekiti could not have an FM station immediately. "VOE, I will build FM station in Ekiti before I go", he emphasized and dismissed me.
Walking his talk, work began almost immediately on the building to house the FM station and it was attached to the television house already nearing completion at Ilokun in Ado Ekiti.
If you knew the original building of the BSES when it relocated from Okeyinmi to Ilokun, the building that served as its headquarters for many years before it was renovated, you would know that the radio and television studios had separate entrances. It was so because the original design of the building was for television alone.
The attached radio building was completed and equipped in record time as the new FM radio came on air even before its sister television channel but both channels were commissioned together on the 22nd of May. 1999 by Navy Captain Yusuf who named the FM station, Golden Voice of Ekiti on 91.5 FM and the TV , People's Television, Station of Creativity EKTV on channel 41 UHF.