Posted on: 02:51 Fri, 25 Dec 2015



The All Progressives Congress (APC) in
Ekiti State has said it will sue Governor
Ayo Fayose for the “reckless manner in
which state funds are spent”.

The party said Fayose would explain
his fabricated figures on the state’s
debts, aimed at deceiving the people
and undermining ex-Governor
Kayode Fayemi, in court
Reacting to claims by Fayose’s media
aide, Lere Olayinka, that Fayemi
plunged Ekiti into debts without any
commensurate projects, Publicity
Secretary Taiwo Olatunbosun said,
in a statement yesterday, that it was
only the blind that could not see the
developmental projects of the former
governor.

The opposition accused Fayose of
telling tall tales, saying Fayose’s
claim that the state’s debt profile was
N232 billion contradicted the N18
billion quoted by the Debt
Management Office (DMO).

“Fayemi did not borrow to pay
salary. He received awards from
many international bodies,
including the United Nations and
top Nigerians, for the feats he
recorded in development projects,
the last being the budget
transparency award that Fayose
tried to usurp.

“Fayose lied that Fayemi at a point
collected N9 billion as monthly
federal allocation. The records are
there that Ekiti’s monthly
allocation remained N2.8 billion
throughout and the biggest being
N3.2 billion when excess crude oil
fund was shared among states.

“The former governor owed one
month salary, and that was
September 2014, and this was as a
result of Fayose as governor-elect
writing the banks not to honour
Fayemi’s credit facility to pay
workers and the banks after
receiving the allocation for the
month in question,” Olatunbosun
explained.

He added: “Fayemi paid N2.2 billion
monthly for salaries, pensions and
subventions to higher institutions
throughout his tenure.

“With thousands of workers losing
their jobs and many social services
suspended when Fayose became
governor, the monthly wage bill has
reduced to less than N2 billion
contrary to the N2.6 billion Fayose
claims is the monthly wage bill.”

He challenged the governor to
produce the state’s debt figure
different from the N18 billion the
Debt Management Office (DMO)
declared, saying Fayose was not
truthful by quoting N232 billion.

“This is a man who has introduced
all manner of taxes that he can’t
account for, yet he comes everyday
declaring that Ekiti is broke.

“We hereby issue him a deadline of
seven days to render accounts of
monies received since he assumed
office, including taxes he imposed on
the people.

“The civil servants who he owed
three months’ salaries and
allowances as well as Ekiti people
deserve to know how their money is
being spent.

“Failure to do this will compel APC to
mobilise civil society groups and
men of good conscience to press for
the investigation and prosecution of
Fayose.’’