Governor Fayose: Why we are probing Fayemi

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said that the case instituted by his predecessor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, against the judicial panel of inquiry he set up to probe Fayemi, is “a waste of time.”

Governor Fayose, who spoke during a live programme in Ado Ekiti, on Tuesday night, said the refusal of his predecessor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to appear before a panel probing the financial transactions of the state during his tenure, ‎ was “strange”, saying he should come there and clear his name rather than seeking a court injunction to stop the panel.

Fa‎yose said: “The law that the House of Assembly relied on to mandate the state government to set up the panel was signed by Fayemi himself and he has gone to court to challenge the same ‎when he has been asked to give account of his stewardship.

“During my inauguration speech, I gave details of the debt profile of the state. Fayemi took N25 billion bond and N31 billion commercial loans. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were the facilitators and they wrote to me to ask if the projects, for which the loans were taken, were executed and I said no.

“Since 2012, Ekiti loses N1.1 billion intervention fund from UBEC yearly because we were suspended due to the diversion of N860 million by the same government.  In Osun State, Governor Aregbesola set up a panel on Oyinlola and Oyinlola appeared before the panel. ‎Fayemi signed the law and why is he afraid?

“They say you should come and give an account of your stewraship and you are running to court, for what?‎”

According to him, the Fayemi administration took money for projects and said they had done the projects, but alleged that they had not executed the projects.

The governor said “even if the government is lying, it is for you to clear your name. Did he go to the court for the court to say that we don’t have powers to set up a probe panel or what?”

‎On the expected Paris Club Refund, Fayose claimed that the Federal Government was black mailing the states, saying the refund was because the FG initially over-deducted monies from state and local governments’ allocations.

‎He added that going by feelers from Abuja, state and local governments would be paid half of what they got from the first tranche.

“That would mean that in Ekiti, both state and local governments would get about N4.4 billion and going by the sharing formula, the state would get about N2.7 billion and the 16 local government areas sharing N1.7 billion. That is still not enough for a month’s wage bill at both state and local government levels,” he stated.

On the crisis in Ikun-Ekiti where some masquerades entered a mosque and beat up worshippers, the governor said the matter was being investigated and the culprits would be duly punished.

On the recent face-off between the state government and fuel marketers, he thanked the people of the state for standing by his administration’s stance on the matter.

He also commended Governor Aregbesola and others for mediating in the matter.

He warned that nobody would be allowed to conduct business in a way that would be injurious to the welfare of the people of the state.

He urged the people of the state to continue to support his administration and allow for continuity by voting somebody from the Fayose political family to office next year.