The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has called on Governor Ayo Fayose to stop his anti-people policies to prevent life-threatening consequences.
The party added that the governor’s failure to pay pensioners had resulted in death of some of them, saying that it is wicked to deliberately punish pensioners, who served the state meritoriously.
Publicity Secretary Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement yesterday said the appeal followed the death of the State Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Pa Rufus Kayode Ogedengbe, who died of minor ailment because he could not afford simple medicare.
“Ekiti people can no longer tolerate this deliberate callousness that results in the death of those who paid with their sweat to productively contribute to the development of Ekiti State.
“Fayose releases N5 million monthly to his media aide, Lere Olayinka, to abuse President Muhammadu Buhari on social media.
“The governor is always cajoling pensioners, telling them there is no money, he has increased his security vote to N300 million while his sons studying abroad drive multi-million naira vehicles.”
Olatunbosun said it is heartless for the governor to deny pensioners their entitlements over purported shortage of funds while buying up pages of newspapers to abuse the President for self-serving motives.
APC spokesman also berated the governor for refusing to pay workers their entitlements.
“Private business owners are facing unbearable tax burden while petty traders have been sent packing from the trading posts and the few ones still in operation are being pursued by Fayose’s agents for obnoxious taxes,” he said.
Asking the governor to learn from former Governor Kayode Fayemi, who paid pensioners regularly during his tenure, Olatunbosun said: “We have asked the governor many times what he has done with the bailout fund from which he is supposed to pay the backlog of arrears of pensioners and the severance allowances of former political office holders but he has refused to render any account; instead, he has been going round local governments deceiving the workers about the true financial position of the state.”