EKITI FUNDS: Fayemi challenges Fayose to open debate

Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, has responded to an allegation that he mismanaged the state’s allocations when he was governor between 2010 and 2014.

He was accused of having squandered about N165 billion state allocations plus other grants when he was governor.

The state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Gboyega Oguntuase, had made the allegation against Fayemi in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, wondering why the former governor still took N25 billion bond and N35 billion commercial loans with nothing to show for the funds.

According to him, “In 2011, Fayemi got N40.5bn as monthly statutory allocations. In 2012, he got N39.8 billion. In 2013, he got N44.3 billion and in 2014, he got N40.1 billion. Whereas, the Fayose administration got N28.2 billion in 2015, N18.8 billion in 2016 and N25.6 billion in 2017.

“Apart from the above monthly allocations, Fayemi still got regular funds from the Excess Crude Oil Account, and IGR among others. Despite what Fayemi got, he still borrowed N25 billion from the capital market and took N31bn commercial loans. The question is: What did he do with the money? Nothing.

“The N25 billion bond and commercial loans, through which he mortgaged the finances of our dear state for 20 years, were spent on nothing. He proposed an event centre, it was never completed. He said he would build a new Governor’s Office, he only scraped a parcel of land near the House of Assembly Complex and did nothing. His new Ojaba Market, for which he erected a billboard at the entrance of the palace of Ewi, never saw the light of the day,” Oguntuase had claimed.

But in his response Fayemi, who is seeking for another four year term after he was defeated as incumbent governor when he completed his first term between 2010 and 2014, challenged Governor Ayodele Fayose to a public debate on how they both handled Ekiti finances in office.

He gave the challenge at a press briefing on Sunday after the inauguration of the state APC campaign council.

Fayemi said, “I challenge Fayose to meet me in a debate and let us discuss what we did with the resources that we held in trust for Ekiti, that way we will know who is a better manager of Ekiti resources or who is a prodigal son.

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“The handover note contained both financial and administrative details of what we did in four years. I urge the PDP and others who wish to find out to visit every single community in Ekiti State. They would find what I did with Ekiti money. There is no community in Ekiti today that you can visit, even the hamlets, that you would not find the footprints of Fayemi.

“In every community, you would find schools and hospitals and community roads and markets that we built; you would find civic centres that we built. They are in all villages and towns in Ekiti. No fewer than 100 people benefited from the social security scheme that we provided. There are communities that received on the average N10m for social security scheme on regular basis.

“You will find those that we employed into the youth volunteer, Peace Corps, the teaching profession and many others.”

Meanwhile, the APC in Ekiti State has inaugurated campaign committees for the July 14 governorship election, and announced ailing former member of the House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele, as the campaign Director-General.

The council is distinct from the one inaugurated by the National Secretariat of APC and led by Kebbi State Governor, Alh. Atiku Bagudu.

Bamidele and five others were shot by a mobile-policeman on July 1 at the APC secretariat in Ado Ekiti during a reception rally organised for the governorship candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

He has been reportedly flown outside the country for further medical treatment.

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