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Tag: Ekiti

  • Ex- PDP chief defects to APC in Ekiti

    Ex- PDP chief defects to APC in Ekiti

    Former two-term State Chairman of PDP in Ekiti State, Chief Ropo Adesanya, at the weekend defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC)‎ in Ijan-Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government of the state.

    At a ceremony held at Ijan Ward secretariat were hundreds of his supporters were received to the party by the Ekiti South Senatorial Chairm‎an of APC, Mr Kayode Babade, in company of other party leaders across the state.

    Gbonyin Local Government Leader, who is also the Chairman of Afenifere in Ekiti State, Chief Dapo Awojolu, praised Adesanya for leading Ijan Ekiti people out of darkness to the light represented by APC.

    While urging members to always have positive attitude to their party for strength and growth, he appealed to the people to always pray for President Muhammadu Buhari to succeed in redirecting Nigeria to the path of development and prosperity.

    Babade urged members to start preparing for the local government election by organising themeslves at the unit level, saying the local government poll represented an opportunity to prove the new energy the party had gained by becoming the first opposition party to defeat incumbent government in the history of the party‎.

    Praising Ijan political leaders, including Aderemi Ajayi and Paul Abegunde for their feats in rallying members for success in previous elections in the town, Adesanya said he had abandoned PDP long time ago over thuggery,  brigandage ‎and deceit of a one-man party in the state,

    He explained that his conscience will not allow him stay in a party that exists for the pleasure of one man while Ekiti people suffer. He added that the crooked politics played by some individuals who think less about the growth and development of the youth and welfare of the elderly people was not what Ekiti people needed to grow the state in desperate need of socio-economic development for the happiness of all.

    “Ekiti people have seen enough deceit and planlessness of the PDP as exemplified by the current administration. I have my name to protect. That is why I am joining honest and decent Ekiti people to chart a new course for the development of our dear state,” Adesanya said, adding:

    “Any political association you can’t find Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Asiwaju Segun Oni, Dr Kayode Fayemi, Senator Gbenga Aluko, Chief Awojolu, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, Ayo Arise, Senator Tony Adeniyi, Aderemi Ajayi, Bimbo Daramola, Femi Ojudu, Opeyemi Bamidele, Bisi Egbeyemi and where Babade and Taiwo Olatubosun, among several other decent Ekiti politicians are running away from, we should know that such a political party exists for motives different from Ekiti development.”

    He assured Ijan people of mass mobilisation and participation for the success of the party in Gbonyin Local Government and in the state at large, even as he urged Ijan people to be prepared for aggressive unit mobilisation and meetings to strengthen the party for future elections.

  • Ex- PDP chief defects to APC in Ekiti

    Ex- PDP chief defects to APC in Ekiti

    Former two-term State Chairman of PDP in Ekiti State, Chief Ropo Adesanya, at the weekend defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC)‎ in Ijan-Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government of the state.

    At a ceremony held at Ijan Ward secretariat were hundreds of his supporters were received to the party by the Ekiti South Senatorial Chairm‎an of APC, Mr Kayode Babade, in company of other party leaders across the state.

    Gbonyin Local Government Leader, who is also the Chairman of Afenifere in Ekiti State, Chief Dapo Awojolu, praised Adesanya for leading Ijan Ekiti people out of darkness to the light represented by APC.

    While urging members to always have positive attitude to their party for strength and growth, he appealed to the people to always pray for President Muhammadu Buhari to succeed in redirecting Nigeria to the path of development and prosperity.

    Babade urged members to start preparing for the local government election by organising themeslves at the unit level, saying the local government poll represented an opportunity to prove the new energy the party had gained by becoming the first opposition party to defeat incumbent government in the history of the party‎.

    Praising Ijan political leaders, including Aderemi Ajayi and Paul Abegunde for their feats in rallying members for success in previous elections in the town, Adesanya said he had abandoned PDP long time ago over thuggery,  brigandage ‎and deceit of a one-man party in the state,

    He explained that his conscience will not allow him stay in a party that exists for the pleasure of one man while Ekiti people suffer. He added that the crooked politics played by some individuals who think less about the growth and development of the youth and welfare of the elderly people was not what Ekiti people needed to grow the state in desperate need of socio-economic development for the happiness of all.

    “Ekiti people have seen enough deceit and planlessness of the PDP as exemplified by the current administration. I have my name to protect. That is why I am joining honest and decent Ekiti people to chart a new course for the development of our dear state,” Adesanya said, adding:

    “Any political association you can’t find Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Asiwaju Segun Oni, Dr Kayode Fayemi, Senator Gbenga Aluko, Chief Awojolu, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, Ayo Arise, Senator Tony Adeniyi, Aderemi Ajayi, Bimbo Daramola, Femi Ojudu, Opeyemi Bamidele, Bisi Egbeyemi and where Babade and Taiwo Olatubosun, among several other decent Ekiti politicians are running away from, we should know that such a political party exists for motives different from Ekiti development.”

    He assured Ijan people of mass mobilisation and participation for the success of the party in Gbonyin Local Government and in the state at large, even as he urged Ijan people to be prepared for aggressive unit mobilisation and meetings to strengthen the party for future elections.

  • Ekiti APC…A divided house

    Ekiti APC…A divided house

    Things have not been the same for the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (apc) since the party was defeated at the governorship poll last year. In the recent general elections, the party could not bounce back. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the crises in the fold.

    Reversal of fortunes has been the lot of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State. Since the party lost last year’s governorship election, it has been battling with protracted crises.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ayo Fayose, defeated former Governor Kayode Fayemi in controversial circumstances.

    Although Fayemi conceded defeat, APC challenged the result of the poll at the Election Petitions Tribunal.

    But, the tribunal presided over by Justice Mohammed Sirajo dismissed the petition.

    The party also lost at the Court of Appeal as a five-man jury, led by Justice Abdu Aboki upheld the decision of the Lower Tribunal.

    Also, the Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered by Justice John Fabiyi on April 14, not only placed a judicial seal on Fayose’s victory, but also declared his purported impeachment as illegal.

    As legal fireworks were going on, the wound inflicted on the APC at the 2014 governorship election was still festering and it triggered a blame game among chieftains.

    The APC failed to put its house in order as last year’s general elections gathered momentum.

    Although the party succeeded in organising primaries that produced its National Assembly and House Assembly elections, it was obvious that achieving success at the polls would prove a Herculean task.

    Many party members were disturbed that leaders who supposed to provide leadership for them deserted the party.

    They claimed that the party’s candidates were like “sheep without shepherd” during the campaign, unlike the PDP candidates who were supported by Fayose.

    Some leaders blamed by party members included the three former governors, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Chief Olusegun Oni (now APC Deputy National Chairman-South), Dr. Fayemi, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Senator Anthony Adeniyi, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, House of Representatives members, the APC Chairman, Chief Olajide Awe and some state EXCO members.

    According to party members, Adebayo, Oni, Fayemi and Ojudu were more interested in the election of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the president.

    They said the leaders failed to back the party with their resources, a situation which placed the party at a disadvantage against the PDP that had a huge warchest for the election.

    Awe was not available for the campaign. The Fayose administration is pursuing a murder case against him at the High Court.

    The complaints against these leaders reached a crescendo during the violent attacks on many APC candidates and members by suspected agents of the PDP.

    Many APC candidates, especially the immediate past House of Assembly members who were seeking re-election, were run out of town by suspected agents of government who made it impossible for them to campaign.

    During the 2011 general elections, the party won the three Senate seats, the six House of Representatives seats and 24 out of 26 House of Assembly seats.

    During the recent election it lost the three Senate seats, the six House of Representatives seat and the 26 State Assembly seats to the PDP.

    The most painful was the State Assembly results.

    Some of the factions existing in the party include the mainstream APC led by Awe, which is loyal to Dr. Fayemi, the Action Group led by Ojudu, which has many aggrieved officials and party leaders who served during the immediate past administration, the Restoration Group formed by the immediate past House of Representatives members, the Justice Forum led by Chief Adeniyi and the Bibiire Coalition led by Opeyemi Bamidele.

    The Bibiire Coalition began a working alliance with the Action Group, shortly before the presidential poll when Bamidele appeared at the party’s  presidential rally in Ado Ekiti.

    Although Bamidele made it clear that he was still in the Labour Party (LP) at the time, he and his supporters would work for Buhari at the presidential poll and support the LP candidates at other elections after which he would join the APC after the election.

    Bamidele has since defected to the APC with his supporters. But, some ward executives in his native Iyin Ekiti are kicking against his return to the party. This is a sign that the acrimony of the past is far from over.

    The Action Group is the most vocal and active of the factions in the Ekiti APC.

    The group, which is led by Ojudu, has other officials of the Fayemi administration, including former Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Ganiyu Owolabi, former Commissioners, Funminiyi Afuye, Mrs. Ronke Okusanya, Mrs. Bunmi Dipo Salami; former Special Adviser, Biodun Akin-Fasae and other aggrieved members.

    The Action Group caucus predicated its formation on the need to “bail the party out of doldrums and lifting the morale of party faithful, which has been at an all time low since the June 21, 2014 governorship election to an all time high”.

    It’s spokesperson, Segun Dipe, said the group came to re-awaken the low spirit of members of the party.

    Dipe recalled how the party lost the governorship election, despite the advantages at its disposal, how the loss disunited the members, how the party leadership failed to summon a post election review meeting to know what went wrong and how the members who were in disarray could not be rallied together.

    “The opposite of action is inaction. Progressivism and activism are what APC should be known for and these are what our group stands for.

    “We saw the party in a precarious state immediately after the election. We called on our leaders to take action by reviewing the election, returning to the drawing table, calling members, telling them what went wrong and restoring them to a state of equanimity in anticipation of future elections, but no satisfactory response came from them.

    “What happened next was that the APC lost the two subsequent elections to the amazement of the  people”.

    Dipe added: “We have woken up our party from the sleepy mode it went into after the ill-fated June 21 2014, we have re-awakened the spirit of progressivism within our party members, we have aligned with other groups to expand the APC frontier in the state.

    Bamidele’s Ekiti Bibiire Coalition is another faction.

    Bamidele said he consulted widely with his followers and the national leadership of the party before refusing to the party.

    He said: “Our coming together with those that were there before will further strengthen the party”.

    He praised the national leaders of the party including Gen. Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and his predecessor, Chief Adebisi Akande, for their roles.

    He said that, with his entry into APC, the party would not be “the same APC the electorate rejected three times at the last general elections”.

    Bamidele reflected on why he left the ACN for the LP.

    He said: “My decision to contest for the governorship of Ekiti State was borne out of my innate conviction and that of many like-minds of mine, most of whom are illustrious sons and daughters of this great State, that though the ACN-led administration then was doing its best, however, its best was not enough for our much expectant but highly disillusioned people .

    “Invariably, I would have loved to stand in for the gubernatorial race on the platform of the ACN as a vision-driven progressive party under the leadership of an equally dynamic leader, benefactor and mentor of mine, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    “But when it became apparent that  party primaries for candidate selection was not likely to hold in the Ekiti Chapter of the ACN/APC, I had no choice at some point in the course of expressing my intent to offer our people a better leadership, than to move to another suitable party where I could be offered the ticket to contest in the ensuing governorship election.

    “All of us the candidates contested on different platforms for the number of seat  in the State. But as we all know in any contest, someone must emerge the winner.“

    But, some party leaders in Bamidele’s hometown of Iyin Ekiti are not comfortable with his return to the progressives fold accusing him of contributing to its failure at the last governorship election.

    APC leaders in Iyin listed conditions for his re-admission.

    In a joint communique signed by the APC Chairmen in Iyin Ward A, Ope Ogundele, and Iyin Ward B, Folorunso Adeuyi, the party leaders said they are not happy with the way Bamidele defected to the Labour Party (LP) in 2013.

    The communique read in part: “Two years after his election, he dumped the party to join the Labour Party as a sole financier and as soon as he joined the Labour Party on the excuse that APC formation was alien to his belief, he became a torn in the flesh of APC.

    “He and his cohorts decided to pull down the structure of our party using all means and machinery at his disposal while also dissipating energy and resources to sponsor Labour Party candidates against APC candidates at all levels, thereby jettisoning his campaign promises”.

    While admitting that though the Nigerian constitution allows freedom of association and exit from that association, they expected Bamidele to conduct consultations within the grassroots party structure? before organizing defection ceremony to join APC.

    “The leadership was shocked on learning of his defection through the media. Bamidele neither came to his ward nor was he received by any party leader in accordance with the rules and regulations of our party.

    “We want to state unequivocally that we are unaware that he has defected to APC.

    “We are saying emphatically that Bamidele shall be welcomed to the party whenever he is ready to come down from his high horse and abide by the laid down rules and regulations of our party guiding defectors.”

    Bamidele is believed to be enjoying the confidence of the national leaders who see him as a mobilizer and a rallying point.

    The Action Group and Bibiire Coalition worked together during the presidential election.

    The Restoration Group was formed by five former House of Representatives members.

    They are: Bimbo Daramola (Oye/Ikole), Robinson Ajiboye (Ido Osi/Moba/Ilejemeje), Bamidele Faparusi (Gbonyin/Emure/Ekiti East), Dr. Ife Arowosoge (Ekiti Southwest/Ikere/Ise Orun) and Oyetunde Ojo (Ekiti West/Efon/Ijero).

    The Restoration Group says it has commenced mobilisation ahead of the next governorship election in 2018.

    It is believed that one of the five former Reps is being positioned for the party’s ticket.

    Much has not been heard from the Justice Group, which is led by Prince Ola Adeniyi, a chieftain of the party from Ikole.

    The Justice Group is pushing for what it called “indigenous candidates” for various elective and appointive positions.

    The group believes that majority of those who had held governorship seat and other positions are not based in Ekiti hence they cannot understand the feelings and yearnings of the people.

     

    Can Ekiti APC put its house in order?

     

    Observers believe that for the APC in Ekiti State to play its role as the leading opposition party, there must be genuine and sincere reconciliation.

    Many party leaders, who have one grouse or the other as a result of their unfulfilled expectations during the Fayemi administration, must be appeased and their grievances looked into.

    The reconciliation, the observers believe, must reach all the 177 wards. How the reconciliation will be carried out remains to be seen.

    Well-meaning party members are also calling for the dissolution of the party executives at the ward and state levels to reposition the party for future challenges.

    Some party members believe that the party leadership, as presently constituted, is skewed in favour of one of the caucuses and cannot lead the party to victory in future elections.

    An APC leader in Efon Local Government, Chief Joseph Alake, is one of the advocates of re-organisation of the party.

    Alake, who spoke with our reporter while he led members of the party to celebrate the inauguration of Buhari on May 29 in Efon Alaaye, said the dissolution of the party executives at all levels is what is presently needed to launch the party back into reckoning.

    The Efon chief said: “This party needs to be reorganised, there is need to dissolve all the present excos at the unit, ward, local government, senatorial and state levels to allow a breath of fresh air in the party.

    “We need to tell ourselves the truth, although God has given our party power at the eternal level for the first time since the nation returned to democracy in 1999, the chapter in Ekiti needs repositioning.

    “It is obvious that the same set of people leading the party cannot continue to remain in office. Our party is currently facing serious challenges, there are some issues that need to be addressed in good time.

    “We urge the national leadership to, as a matter of urgency assist the party in Ekiti to be back on its feet and challenge the excesses of the PDP government.”

    Another chieftain, Gabriel Olaofe, expressed optimism that despite the challenges facing the APC in Ekiti State, the future is bright.

    Olaofe who is the former APC Secretary in the defunct Ifedara Local Council Development Area, urged all feuding party members to sink their differences and come together to make the party an election-winning platform.

    “This is not the time to be apportioning blames, we should put the defeat of last year behind us and forge a united front to tackle the misrule and dictatorship prowling the Ekiti political landscape.

    “This is the time to carry out a thorough and genuine reconciliation process and lay the foundation ahead of the future elections most especially as the 2018 governorship election is fast approaching.

    “Let us learn from the mistakes of the past, go back to the drawing board and fashion out a winning formula. The doors of the party should not be shut against anyone that is willing to join as long as they subscribe to the ideology of the party.

    “All shades of opinion should be accommodated in the party leadership to make it a party that’s ready to win back power within a very short period of time.”

    A chieftain in Ijan Ward in Gbonyin Local Government Area, Taiwo Olawuyi, urged those who would be privileged to be appointed to positions in the APC-led Federal Government to be closer to the local chapter of the party.

    Olawuyi said: “I want to charge our party members that will be appointed to key positions at federal level to give back to the party at their wards, local governments of origin and the state levels.

    “This is not the time to remain perpetually in Abuja and abandon their home base. The party in Ekiti needs serious financial, material and moral support at time the party is no longer in power in the state.

    “There should be an aggressive and continuous membership drive because Ekiti people have seen what the PDP has to offer in terms of illegality, constitutional breaches, violence, dashed hopes and expectations of civil servants, among others.

    “This party has potentials to bounce back, if we get our acts right and there should be no room for self-aggrandizement, blame game and division because 2018 is just around the corner”.

    The people of Ekiti State are watching whether the APC would be back to the winning ways in no distant time or allow itself to be ruined by avoidable self-inflicted crisis.

  • Ekiti: God is not mocked

    Ekiti: God is not mocked

    Recent disclosures of DSS hyperactivity in that election, together with that of elements within the Nigerian Army, can only go to further confirm that Fayose must currently be supplicating God for forgiveness

    “7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life”  – GALATIANS 6:  7-8.

    According to newspaper reports, Governor Ayo Fayose was in church this past week to celebrate and thank God for his ‘victory’ at the state’s governorship election of 21 June, 2014. The governor certainly knows better and, as a Christian, should be well aware that God cannot be mocked. Recent disclosures of DSS hyperactivity in that election, together with that of elements within the Nigerian Army, can only go to further confirm that Fayose must currently be supplicating God for forgiveness.

    However, that’s for another day.

    We would rather talk today about governance. We cannot forget that he has had a million demons to fight for survival and was, therefore, obviously distracted.  This interrogation will, therefore, not be about how secure  the state  is, with its tens  of kidnappings, not  on how the elders, whose welfare package he  had, like Thatcher the milk Snatcher, yanked off  their  reach nor, indeed,  about how those  investors  who, encouraged by the relative peace  of the Fayemi  era,  sank  billions on  first rate  hotels, are now getting by, if at all.  Focus would therefore be on the governor’s failure to pay the state’s work force and pensioners.  This becomes germane in the light of the federal government’s release of the list of which states it owes; a list on which Ekiti State did not appear. For the moment, therefore, we are taking that list as fact until the Ekiti State government can prove to the contrary beyond doubt.

    Commenting on the subject on Ekitipanupo this past week, a member wrote: “Remember Fayose denied ever collecting N2b from the Ecological Fund for a long time. On the state radio and television, he turned payment from the Ecological Fund to theatrics, saying: “Whether ecological fund, meteorological fund , biological fund or Ekitilogical fund o, I don’t know anything about it. I have not collected any kobo.” He kept denying this until APC, armed with the FOI law, was about to obtain facts of the payment from the Fund. Officials in the office leaked our initiative to him and before you know it, Fayose got his media aide to admit collection of the money. A week later, he announced the award of contracts for ecological projects worth exactly N2b. When the projects were advertised, and where sited, remain unknown to anybody. He equally denied collecting N22b in refunds on federal projects executed by the state government. Meanwhile, ex. Minister Dayo Adeyeye exposed Fayose inadvertently during President Jonathan’s campaign in Ekiti State. Intending to shore up GEJ’s profile, he announced that the president had refunded money spent on federal projects but that slip reportedly put him in trouble with Fayose.

    Contributing to the same topic, I wrote, inter alia: “I think that the correct emphasis on the Ekiti situation should be the following:

    1. Governor Fayose got paid over N10b – that should now read N22b – outstanding indebtedness plus another N2b ecological fund.  2. He has been paid monthly federal allocations to date – including the one for which he did not pay salaries in September (?). 3. He requested and got a six-month moratorium on bond repayments on which Fayemi never once defaulted. 4. He cancelled the welfare fund for the elders, which was gulping a minimum N100m per month under Fayemi.  5. He has not paid subventions to Ekiti State University and the College of Education for at least four months.

    6. He unilaterally reduced Obas’ salaries, and among other things, abrogated some state agencies with hundreds of workers. If he is not paying salaries because of debts allegedly incurred by his predecessors, as he continues to claim, without proof, shouldn’t he reschedule the repayments as he did with the bond?”

    Now, if we were operating in the realm of conjecture when those comments were written, what about now that the federal government has affirmed it is not owing the state a kobo? Incidentally, I have read some rebuttals from supporters of the government. But how would they rebut the  live video recording which captured Dayo Adeyeye  at a presidential campaign at which both Fayose and the ex-president, among others, were present and, in which, Adeyeye praised Goodluck Jonathan for  giving Ekiti a university, as if from his own purse,  as well as for paying all the federal government’s indebtedness to the state. In a situation where a whole state, its royalty, the gentry as well as its hoi polloi, have been  comprehensively silenced, it would be greatly appreciated if Governor Fayose would let the world know the truth about his failure to pay workers and pensioners up to date. It would not help pointing fingers at other defaulting states, as circumstances differ. He should let us know if, as claimed by one of the few remaining Ekiti elders still with a voice, himself quoting one Omot Omenge, he is paying for some pre-election commitments.

    Enough of this charade – shagari did not work with npn majority in the senate

    I believe Nigerians must be sick and tired of the charade following the Saraki/Dogara sell-out in the National Assembly. The show of shame in the House this past Thursday, and with Saraki arrogantly rejecting the party’s choices, the time has come for the APC to firmly  establish  party supremacy over these nauseating, overarching individual ambitions. The party must go for broke and Saraki and his co- conspirators could very well head back straight to the PDP to meet their corrupt, alleged instigators and financiers whether from within or outside the National Assembly.

    He could, in fact, visit Otuoke, post haste.

    With the NPN having 36 of 95 Senate seats, and 165 of 443 in the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, President Shehu Shagari did not have a majority in any of the chambers of the National Assembly; yet filled the offices with its  party members and, poignantly, with Bukola Saraki’s father as Senate leader. The leadership were the party’s choices, not of some individuals who think the world of themselves.  Nor has President Obama’s party a majority in both senate and congress. If by their own hands, these prodigals end up where Nigerians thought we had exited in 1999, they are the ones who have cockroaches in their wardrobes and, therefore, risk jail terms or worse, for economically despoiling the country. This I guess, should indeed, be their just comeuppance, rather than their present life of obscene opulence and arrogance. I have no doubt that Nigerians would file right behind the APC and President Buhari in the government’s fight against corrupt gangs who intend to coyly continue their 16-year stranglehold on the country.

     

    Still on the Saraki-APC Fiasco

    E-mail from a reader about last week’s article: As I expected, your description of what transpired in the NASS leadership election as a fiasco is spot on. On the 9th of June, I got several calls of lamentation from well-meaning Nigerians who, like me, are severely weather-beaten by PDP’s sixteen inglorious years, wondering if all hopes of redemption are now in vain. Nearly all were tearfully emotional, showing Nigerians’ high hopes on the president, his party and his yet to be team.  Is President Buhari aware that what endears him to an ordinary Nigerian is his honesty, discipline, and the penchant for law and order, all of which vamoosed in the manner Bukola Saraki was elected Senate President?  The manner and the characters behind his emergence smack of nothing but treachery and back stabbing, both of his party, and the Nigerian people. While the process in the House was transparent, this cannot be said of the charade in the senate.  I was, therefore, not surprised to see Mimiko, Akpabio and company, celebrating. How come the clerk of the senate who displayed such disrespect for the president has not been sanctioned till now? Wike has just invaded the home of Ibim Semenitari, a former Rivers State commissioner, with thugs and policemen, destroying both her, and her husband’s, properties. This, in an APC-controlled federal government?  Are our people asleep?

    Or they just don’t know what to do with power?

  • Fayose: 809 ghost workers uncovered in Ekiti

    Fayose: 809 ghost workers uncovered in Ekiti

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has revealed that a total number of 809 ghost workers have been uncovered in the verification exercise recently conducted by his administration.

    The governor also declared his intent to unveil the list of his commissioners-designate within 48 hours.

    The gorvernor who spoke Thursday evening during his monthly media chat, “Meet Your Governor,” said he waited so long in appointing more commissioners because the state had no money to pay their salaries and allowances.

    The governor had been working with three commissioners who were ratified by seven former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers who did not form a quorum in a 26-member House of Assembly.

    The three commissioners are Owoseni Ajayi (Justice), Toyin Ojo (Finance and Economic Development) and Kayode Oso (Works and Infrastructure).

    Fayose pledged not to appoint more than fourteen commissioners meaning that only eleven commissionership positions are available for intending hundreds of party men and loyalists.

    He promised to forward the list of the nominees to the Assembly for screening and ratification to speed up the wheel of governance

    Giving an update on the recent staff verification exercise, the governor disclosed that a total of 49,066 had so far been screened out of who 48,257 were verified leaving a total of 809 ghost workers.

    Expressing regrets with the inferno which gutted the Erekesan Market (Oja Oba) in Ado Ekiti, Fayose said occupants of the market said had up till August to leave their shops for Fayemi Market along Moferere-Agric Road and Awedele Market along Basiri Road.

    He lamented that the fire incident which consumed the market recently could have been prevented if there was a way men of the state fire services could get inside the market to put out the fire.

    Fayose assured that the new market to be constructed would have facilities such as police station, functional fire station as well as parking space, befitting of a state capital.

    The governor revealed that a number of measures had been designed by his government towards ensuring that the current economic crisis in the country did not bite too much on the people of the state.

    He explained that his administration would explore all available means towards improving internally-generated revenue in the state.

    Fayose advised those who bought plots of land as well as homes from the state government since 2003, but who were yet to pay up to do the needful within a reasonable period of time to avoid such facilities from being reclaimed from them.

    Speaking on security, Fayose threatened that any resident who allowed his house or building to be used either as accommodation or warehouse by armed robbers would have such property demolished immediately.

    He also threatened to seize farmlands where cultivation of Indian hemp is discovered in any part of the state.

     

  • Ekiti verification ends Tuesday

    Ekiti verification ends Tuesday

    The Ekiti State government has said workers’ verification will end on Tuesday, June 30. It said workers, whose cases of irregularities were rectified lately, would receive their salaries before the end of next week.

    Deputy Governor Kolapo  Olusola gave the assurance while addressing some affected workers in Ado Ekiti.

    Olusola said the delay in payment was due to irregularities discovered in their verification forms and the disparities between the information they supplied and what was on the government payroll data.

    He said state workers’ figure was put at 49,066,of which 48,257 have been cleared and their salaries paid, leaving a figure of 809 workers yet to be cleared.

    According to the deputy governor, 523 of the 809 workers were absent from the verification exercise; the remaining 286 with various cases of irregularities were being attended to.

    Olusola said salaries of 18 workers were returned to the Office of the Accountant General from their various banks due to discrepancy in names and account numbers.

  • Ekiti: Tribunal rules against application on card reader printout

    The Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the application of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ekiti Central senatorial candidate Gbenga Olofin seeking the release of the printout of the card reader used for the election.

    Olofin and the APC are challenging the election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mrs. Fatimat Rasaki in the March 28 National Assembly election conducted in the senatorial district.

    Other defendants in the case are PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Resident Electoral Commissioner, Nigeria Police Force, Inspector General of Police and Nigerian Army.

    APC candidate claimed in his petition that the 1st Respondent (Mrs. Rasaki) was not duly elected by the majority of votes cast.

    Olofin also averred that the election and return of the 1st Respondent is invalid by reasons of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

    Tribunal Chairman Justice A. N. Erhabor who delivered the ruling at the panel’s sitting on Wednesday said the APC candidate’s prayer failed because the petitioners did not cite any authority backing their request.

    Justice Erhabor also held that the petitioners did not adduce any cogent reason for the application to be granted by the three-man jury.

    The tribunal adjourned sitting on the petition to June 26.

    Reacting shortly after the tribunal rose, counsel to the petitioners, Femi George, said the ruling would not affect the substantive matter before the tribunal.

    George explained that the “card reader printout sought is just infinitesimal compared with the avalanche of evidence available to prove that the senatorial poll was marred by irregularities.”

    Ekiti Central APC spokesman Tai Oguntayo expressed dismay with the ruling wondering why INEC objected to the application to compel it to produce the printout of the card reader used for the election.

    Oguntayo said; “Although the ruling will not have any serious effect on the deluge of evidence we have to challenge Mrs Raji Rasaki’s victory.

     

    “We still believe that if INEC is not hiding anything, it should not have objected our application for the print out.

    “The print-out was produced by INEC in Rivers and Benue States where startling revelations had emerged.”

     

  • Ekiti hoteliers, shop owners groan over multiple taxes

    •CSOs set up tax justice panel to check fraud

    Hoteliers, shop owners and traders in Ekiti State are troubled by what they have described as multiple taxations by government agencies.

    They voiced their concerns at the inauguration of the State Tax Justice and Governance Platform by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in collaboration with the New Initiative for Social Development (NISD) in Ado Ekiti, the state capital on Friday.

    NISD’s Executive Director Abiodun Oyeleye emerged as the chairman of the state Tax Justice and Governance Platform, with members  from other civil society organisations, faith-based organisations, trade associations and trade unions.

    At the event, stakeholders  signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate and make representation to government agencies to ensure that citizens pay the right taxes.

    Chairman of the state Hoteliers Association of Nigeria Samuel Olakorede said hotel owners pay not less than seven taxes concurrently to federal, state and local governments agencies.

    Governmental organisations collecting taxes from hoteliers at the same time, according to Olakorede, include the State Signage Agency, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Tourism Board, Ministry of Commerce, Water Corporation, Ministry of Environment and  local governments.

    Some market women at the parley also complained that they pay taxes to multiple sources, saying that some tax officials refused to issue them valid receipts.

    Speaking shortly before the inauguration, CISLAC Senior Programmes Officer Kolawole Banwo said the move was not to challenge the government from collecting taxes but to ensure that citizens pay what is due to them.

    Banwo, who is the project coordinator of the Capacity for Research and Advocacy for Fair Taxation (CRAFT), said Ekiti was the eighth state where such platform would be inaugurated.

    He said CISLAC targets the 17 states in the South.

    “CRAFT is an offshoot of the global tax justice campaign. All over the world, there is no way to sustainable development other than tax because dependence on loans and aid has become a big problem to developing countries,” Banwo said.

    “What African countries lose is more than the aid they receive and a global campaign has commenced to ensure that the multinationals pay the right taxes.

    “While the government is after revenue, we are after tax justice and what we are advocating is that let people pay what they are due to pay

    “Every tax must be tied to a law because tax is a matter of law and the question to ask here is: what are the taxes that are legal in Ekiti State?

    “The law should stipulate who to collect tax, how to collect it and the frequency of the collection. People should have places where they can report tax injustice.”

    He also urged Nigerians to always hold governments  accountable on the taxes they pay and how they are spent.

     

  • Ikere royal families: no to imposition

    Royal families in Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State have warned that the community could go to  “war”, if a  non-royal candidate  is imposed as the monarch.

    The placard-carrying royals, who are also known as  Omo Owas, marched on the streets yesterday.

    They called on Governor Ayo Fayose not to impose Jimi Adu as the monarch, insisting that he is not a member of any of the royal families.

    They maintained that the purported selection of Adu by some kingmakers was unacceptable.

    They urged Fayose to order a fresh selection process using the Ifa oracle.

    Some of the placards read: “We want Fayose to call for fresh nomination”; “Adu is not a prince in Ikere”; “Ikere needs peace”; “No to Jimi Alagbado”; “No to imposition of Ogoga”, among others.

    The Omo Owas, who are princes and princesses from Ogbenuote and Agabaola royal families, claimed that Adu hails from Okekere Quarters, which, according to them, had never produced a king.

    The Ogoga royal stool became vacant on August 22 last year, following the demise of Oba Samuel Adegoke Adegboye, who reigned for 43 years.

    Addressing reporters, Prince Francis Aladejobi said it was unheard of for somebody who is not from a royal family to be installed as king.

     “Such would set a bad precedent not only in Ikere- Ekiti but also in Yoruba land.

    “Adu is from Okekere, he cannot claim to be from any of the royal families.

    “All the princes and princess in Ikere Kingdom know themselves and we will not allow any outsider to ‘gatecrash’.

    “How can a person who is not a member of any of the royal families be imposed on us as the Ogoga?

    “ Jimi Adu is not a member of any royal family, hence he is not eligible for selection and installation as the Ogoga.

    “Adu is not a biological member of the Ogbenuote or Agabaola ruling houses. His purported selection was a flagrant debasement of tradition and the royal stool of Ogoga.”

    Aladejebi advised the government “to do the needful” by commencing the process of selecting the Ogoga afresh to bring down the tension that had gripped the town.

    The Olori Omo Owa (head of princes and princesses), Prince Adegboye Akapinsa, said it was wrong for Adu to claim he is from Ogbenuote and Alagbado ruling houses while also filing his intent to vie for the stool through the Agirilala dynasty.

    He said:  “We are begging Governor Fayose to prevent calamity in Ikere-Ekiti.

    “There won’t be peace in a situation where a non-royal, somebody without royal blood, is installed as Ogoga.

    “In his emergence, Ifa was not consulted apart from the fact that he does not belong to royalty.

    “We challenge Adu to come out and point to his royal family in Ikere-Ekiti.

    “We witnessed peaceful reign under the late Oba Adegboye, who was from Akaiyejo ruling house because the town wanted him.

    “We all supported his nomination. Anything short of transparent selection is unacceptable to us.

    “We want our governor to warn those fanning the embers of discord, those bent on imposing their preferred candidate not minding to beware.

    “We don’t want war in Ikere because this desperate attempt will cause war in this town.”

  • Ekiti owes only May salary, says govt

    Ekiti owes only May salary, says govt

    The Ekiti State government has said it owes workers only May salary.

    Special Assistant to the governor on Public Communications and New Media Lere Olayinka said: “As at today, the only salary yet to be paid by the Fayose administration is that of May.

    “The administration has cleared the August 2014 salary left unpaid by the previous administration, leaving that of September that will be paid as soon as there is improvement in the state’s finances.”

    On the May salary, the governor’s aide said: “May allocation that was received was not enough to pay salary, leaving the government with the option of waiting for June allocation that is expected to be released next week and the moment that is done, workers will get their May salary.”

    Olayinka added:“It is also important to point out that apart from the shortfall in the state’s allocation, the mismanagement of the state’s finances is responsible for the present parlous state of its finances.

    “As at the time we assumed office, unpaid bank loan was N15, 831,613,425.62 while outstanding payment from the N25billion bond was N26, 749,796,784.75, making N42.6billion debt from bank loans and bond alone. N21, 286,126,749 was outstanding payment to road contractors while N5,137,888,224.37 was outstanding emoluments to public servants.

    “The state was able to meet up with payment of salary because of the six months moratorium gotten from financial institutions from which the previous administration obtained loans.”