ALLEGED N4.9BN FRAUD: Fayemi vows to meet Fayose in court

Former Ekiti State governor and current Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has vowed to challenge the alleged N4.9 billion fraud charges leveled against him and his former Finance Commissioner, Mr. Dapo Kolawole, by the Governor Ayodele Fayose-led administration of the state in court.

Justice Silas Oyewole Judicial Commission of Inquiry, set up to probe the Finances of Ekiti State during the time Fayemi was governor of the state between 2011 to 2014, had indicted him of the alleged corruption along with his Finance Commissioner.

And less than two weeks after a white paper on the panel report was released, the state government last Friday, in a suit marked HAD/05c/2018, dragged Fayemi and Kolawole before an Ado Ekiti High with 19-count charges bothering on the alleged fraud of N4.9 billion.

But reacting, the former governor in a statement by his Special Adviser, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, described the development as “desperation” efforts by Fayose’s government, “to tarnish Dr Fayemi’s public service record.”

The statement read, “The government, out of desperation, refused to release the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the report of the panel to Fayemi’s counsel more than a month after he has sent in a written application for the CTC of the report.

“The lawyer asked for the CTC of the report as part of the documents he needed for a suit he has filed challenging the outcome of the panel. Now the same government that has refused to release the report is going to court based on the same report. Can you see mischief, double standard and deliberate witch hunting? But we shall meet in court.”

Meanwhile, Kolawole has cried foul over the allegation against him and has already dragged Governor Fayose and two others before a Federal High Court in Abeokuta for alleged libel, demanding N20 billion as compensation.

The suit, filed on January 18 at the Federal High Court, Abeokuta Division and marked FHC/ABK/CS/6/2018 will come up for hearing at the court on Friday, February 23.

The former commissioner further sued Fayose, the Permanent Secretary, and Federal Ministry of Finance, Attorney General of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN; and Debt Management Office, DMO.

Also joined in the suit are Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Secretary to Ekiti State Government, Accountant General and Ekiti State, Commissioner for Finance, Ekiti State.

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Kolawole is praying the court to halt the payment of the outstanding sum of N11 billion being awaited as refunds from the Federal Government on Ado-Ifaki Road. He is asking that the money should not be given to Fayose administration as the road was constructed by the Fayemi regime.

The former commissioner is demanding that Fayose’s spokesman, Lere Olayinka and House of Assembly member pay him damages of N10 billion each for alleged criminal libel and defamation on the statement they made on a television and radio programme.

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