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  • Fayose signs Ekiti 2018 budget

    Fayose signs Ekiti 2018 budget

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, on Friday signed the N98.6billion 2018 budget into law.

    The 2018 budget was passed by the state House of Assembly on December 19.

    Signing the Appropriation Bill at the Government House, Ado Ekiti, Fayose hailed the legislators for prompt passage of the budget.

    Fayose said: “This is the last budget I will sign as governor of Ekiti having done the little God has helped me to do. I commend the Assembly for standing by me. It is my prayer that this Assembly will continue to grow from strength to strength.

    “You have demonstrated responsible leadership. I’m not in doubt record will show you as one of the best Assemblies we ever had in the history of Ekiti.”

     

     

  • ‘We won’t allow Fayose to manipulate Ekiti pdp primary’

    ‘We won’t allow Fayose to manipulate Ekiti pdp primary’

    Ambassador Dare Bejide, who hails from Ilawe-Ekiti, is a former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State. The  former High Commissioner to Canada (between 1999 and 2002), Secretary to the Government (between 2007 and 2010) and governorship aspirant tells ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, why he wants to succeed Governor Ayodele Fayose in the Fountain of Knowledge. 

    Why do you want to the governor of Ekiti State?

    I am qualified to be governor of Ekiti State based on number one, you are aware of this agitation on Ekiti South agenda. We have had two governors from Ekiti Central, two from Ekiti North and since the creation of the state, we from Ekiti South have not been given the opportunity to serve as the chief executive of the state. Since that agitation has been on, people are beginning to say fairness is fairness and I am from the South, I am qualified. Apart from the issue of zoning, within the PDP, I am the most senior in the party in terms of membership. I was there when the party was founded in 1998, I am not sure any of the aspirants in the PDP can boast of that record. I was the pioneer secretary of the party (in Ekiti) and I have been around for a long while to understand the feelings of the people.

    Apart from the three years I spent as Ambassador outside the country, I have always been around. I had my primary school education in Ekiti State, I also went to secondary school in my local government area. I would probably have gone to the state university if there was one at the time I went to the university and I have always been here since my graduation. I have my law chambers here, so I see myself as a homeboy and I believe that for the first time, we need a homeboy as governor in Ekiti.  We need somebody who had the opportunity of living, staying and working in Ekiti. Again, I have the required experience, I was the pioneer secretary of the party, I was the first deputy governorship candidate of the party. I secured my first political appointment of the party as (Nigeria’s) High Commissioner (to Canada). When I came back, I was appointed SSG by the Oni Administration and when the mandate was set aside by the Court of Appeal and during the interim administration headed by Tunji Odeyemi, I was also reappointed as SSG and when Oni won the rerun, I was again appointed SSG. I believe I have paid my dues in the state, I was the secretary of the elders that agitated for the creation of more local governments when we were in Ondo State; I was the secretary of that committee. When Isokan was created from Ekiti South, Ado-Ekiti was created from Ekiti Central and that created the foundation for the new administration. I have paid my dues in terms of contribution to the development of the state. In my local government area, I have assisted lots of people, I have assisted in provision of amenities in my immediate community and I believe that within the PDP, I deserve the ticket.

    Can you unfold your development agenda for the state, those things you hope to do if you are elected governor in the 2018 poll?

    I believe the most important issue in Ekiti today is this issue of poverty. Poverty is so endemic in the state that government should be able to bring out programmes to tackle it, if not removing completely I believe it can be reduced. I believe one of the ways we can reduce poverty is to promote agriculture; agriculture has the potentials of providing food and apart from providing food to feed the people, it is also capable of generating employment. What our people need is the encouragement, once the government encourages our farmers, we will be able to produce more food. Agriculture will be provide livelihood for over eight per cent of our people; we need t encourage our farmers to stay more on the farms and also make agriculture more attractive to our youths. If an average graduate knows that going into agric will fetch him more money as he can get from government jobs, he will be interested. In other words, what we are going to do is to do away with hoes and cutlasses and introduce modern ways of doing farming to encourage the young ones to go into farming. Our farmers are getting old and it is difficult to produce more with bare hands; government will also encourage young ones by establishing farm estates in each of the local governments. In these farm estates, we will provide amenities like water, electricity and hostels for young graduates; we will also train them and give them specials skills to use modern equipment and new farming methods. If they are sure that through farming, through can buy new cars build houses on their own, they will rely less on government. We will also encourage farmers to be able to produce crops that can attract industries; this will allow investors to buy from them. One or two industries will be attracted because they will get raw materials from farmers; those are the three things agric will give us, food, employment and attraction of investment through the production of crops in large numbers. We also work on establishing cottage industries in each of the sixteen local governments; we will look at the products each local government area has comparative advantage in producing. You are aware that in Ekiti Southwest local government, we can produce plantain in large quantity; you also know that in Ise/Orun local government, we have water melon. You know that in Irepodun/Ifelodun local government, in Igbemo, we have this long history of rice production. We are going to ensure that we have small industries to produce plantain products and water melon juice; the advantage is number one, the farmers will get value for their products and there will be markets waiting for these products. Those are the things we want to do in agriculture. Again, we want to encourage our civil servants because the civil service is the engine room of any government. We will ensure that we pay their salaries as and when due, we will make sure that will elect their officers without government interference so that those officers will agitate for their welfare. We will also ensure that we train and re-train them for them to improve on what they do every time and allow for fresh intakes into the service. We bring in fresh graduates on yearly basis to reduce unemployment; those are new things we believe we can do than the present government. We will also open more roads in the rural areas so that farmers can bring their produce to the urban centres to get value on what they sell. We will also make sure that we provide amenities in the rural areas, we believe the present government is trying it best in the state capital but government does not end in the state capital.

    We will make rural areas more attractive for our young ones by providing amenities that will reduce rural to urban migration.

    When you were the SSG, what were the achievements you recorded in that office that have prepared you and made you qualified than other aspirants?

    I thank God that I was able to serve as the Secretary to the Government. Apart from my own immediate constituency as a PDP member, I was able to make my impact in terms of contributions to my party. I took it upon myself as the former PDP Secretary in the state, I believe the party should not be allowed to suffer. When I was SSG, allparty members had access to the government because I provided that opportunity when I was in government. My office was open to everybody and I was in charge of the welfare of party and party members.

    Although I won’t be able to access myself but all our party members agreed that I did very well; in my local government, I want to say that it was a glorious period for party members. We had the highest number of political appointments in my time, two of the roads leading to my hometown were rehabilitated: Ilawe-Igede Road, Ilawe-Igbara Odo Road and a new road was opened up in my local government, that is Ilawe-Erijiyan Road. At the same time, we also did the road between Ogotun and Ipole; so, all the three communities (in Ekiti Southwest LGA) benefited when I was in government, Ilawe, Ogotun and Igbara Odo in terms of road construction and rehabilitation. We also did our best in other areas in terms of human empowerment; we were able to empower individuals and at the state level, all the achievements we had while I was in government by virtue of my position as the officer in charge of implementation of government programmes. I did my best and the record is there for everybody to see; that is why it is possible for me to come out to contest. I am very proud of my achievements when I was in government because if I did not do well, I wouldn’t have been appointed three times. I was appointed by the Segun Oni administration, another administration came, I was re-appointed, another one came, I was re-appointed. That tells a lot of story because if I didn’t do well, I wouldn’t have been appointed. I believe I did my best as SSG and I believe as the governor of the state I will do more in the areas of health, education and so on and so forth.

    Few months ago, Deputy Governor Kolapo Olusola was adopted by Governor Fayose and his group. Don’t you think that this may affect your chances and other aspirants? Don’t you think that it may shut you and others out of the race?

    I have spoken on this several times, but since you have raised it again, I will speak on it. One, I want you to look at it from this angle; if an individual is saying that he would nominate a governor for the state, the person so nominated should know that that is a minus for his aspiration. If an individual can say, ‘this is your governor’ to the people of the state, the person so nominated should consider himself as a failure and that he has lost the election.

    Democracy is about the people and it only means that the person who would lead us has to be elected by all of us and the process of getting the flag bearer in the PDP is clearly spelt out. It is through an election that will be conducted at a particular time by delegates from all the wards and until that is done, we are yet to get a flag bearer. The governor has the right to support anybody but we also have the right to accept or reject the person so nominated. Until Prof Eleka (Olusola) became the deputy governor, we didn’t know him in this state; we didn’t know him, in fact he was not a registered party member until he became the deputy governor. As a matter of fact, he had no voter’s card in Ekiti State before he became the deputy governor. For somebody now to say that he would succeed him is not only ridiculous but also immoral; I am ready to challenge him because the party is our party. The nominator and the nominee met me in this party, I mean the governor and his deputy, they all met me in this party and nobody can hijack our party.  All the leaders of the party have resolved that we are going into primary election and I am ready;

    I have advised my supporters to ignore the nomination or adoption because it is illegal, it is immoral and unacceptable.

    If Olusola is imposed, are there ways you can scale through with your ambition?

    One, I can assure you that it will be very difficult for anybody to manipulate the primary. It was very easy in 2014 because we had people in Abuja supporting us but at the moment, there is no godfather again.

    We don’t have any Federal Government, we don’t have President (from our party) now so it is not easy for anybody to manipulate the system because if you manipulate the system, that is another way of giving mandate away to the APC. The last time the system was manipulated, we all agreed to vote for the PDP, all us when we knew that the system was manipulated. We still voted for PDP because we felt that the person that benefited was a party man but now, you can’t try that again. We have resolved to resist it, we won’t allow it and the idea of somebody doing it again does not arise. We have been going round the local government areas to allay the fears of our members on this issue and we believe that power resides with the people and that’s why we have been moving round to assure them that all shall be well. There are no two ways about it, they should be prepared for primaries.

     

  • APC, Fayose trade words over ‘reckless’ borrowing

    APC, Fayose trade words over ‘reckless’ borrowing

    •apc: He’ll account for new debts
    •Gov: I only took n10 billion eca grant, n1 billion subeb loan

    The Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Ayo Fayose are trading blames over alleged borrowing of N56 billion in the last three years by his administration.

    While the governor claimed that he only took a fresh loan of N10 billion grant from the Excess Crude Account, which was released to all states for capital projects and N1 billion out of N2.8 billion requested from Wema Bank to pay State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and N600 million for MDGs counterpart fund which has been repaid.

    The APC insisted that Fayose will account for “every kobo borrowed but diverted for personal gains” on the heels of revelation from the Debt Management Office (DMO) that he has borrowed N56 billion since coming back to office in 2014.

    The party’s Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said in a statement on Monday that the latest debts figures confirmed the party’s position that Fayose was deliberately borrowing recklessly for elephant projects awarded to his cronies’ companies for personal benefit.

    He berated the governor for always lying to the public, saying the latest revelation had put to rest his “shameless lies in pursuit of fraudulent agenda for personal benefit while workers are unpaid for nine months.”

    Olatunbosun said: “With the latest revelation, we can now see that Fayose is a pathological liar, wicked and first class heartless soul who relies on reckless misinformation and deceit to mislead civil servants and general public to misapply the state’s funds for personal benefit.

    “For a long time, he kept deceiving Ekiti people that he had not borrowed one kobo since assumption of office, blaming the debt profile on former Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    “This is the same way he denied taking N2b ecological fund for a very long time until APC approached Ecological Fund office in Abuja to confirm the status of Ekiti State’s entitlement and three days after he finally confessed taking the money, he announced the award of ecological projects totalling exactly N2b.

    “Even though up till now, there is no ecological project he executed with that money and the result is what we saw early in the year when floods ravaged several parts of the state.”

    “How can Fayose commit the state to so much debts, collect over three years allocations and other financial reliefs from the  Federal

    Government, yet he is owing workers and pensioners for months?

    “Fayose will surely account and pay back every penny he and his family took from Ekiti covers through his elephant projects, and for the first time, he will know that Ekiti people are no fools he calls them.”

    But Fayose in a statement on Monday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, described the alleged borrowing of N56 billion in three years as “total falsehood orchestrated from the media office of former Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    “The report, which was attributed to the Debt Management Office (DMO) was orchestrated from the media office of the Minister of Mines and

    Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who is obviously struggling albeit unsuccessfully to redeem his battered image by trying to change the narrative from the debt he plunged Ekiti State to and the wanton looting of the treasury when he was governor.

    He said: “We are however not unmindful of the battered image of the APC in Ekiti State and the attempt to change the narrative to ‘Fayemi’s government truly plunged Ekiti into debt, but Fayose’s government has borrowed more.’ This is more like someone admitting to being a thief but calling others thieves too.

    “No matter how hard Fayemi and his spin-doctors try, they cannot erase the fact that apart from regular monthly allocation and Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) fund among others, Fayemi’s received N46.4 billion from the Excess Crude Account, yet he took N25 billion

    bond and N31 billion commercial bank loan.

    “One of such frivolous loans was the N5 billion obtained from Ecobank without the DMO approval, using Fountain Holdings Limited, a company with N15 million share capital.

    “We are however not unmindful of the battered image of the APC in Ekiti State and the attempt to change the narrative to ‘Fayemi’s government truly plunged Ekiti into debt, but Fayose’s government has borrowed more.’ This is more like someone admitting to being a thief but calling others thieves too.

     

  • $1b to fight Boko Karam: Governors Forum tackles Fayose

    $1b to fight Boko Karam: Governors Forum tackles Fayose

    •Says Ekiti governor is on his own, decision collective
    •Insists Buhari will not divert public resources to political campaign

    Nigeria Governors’ Forum Chairman AbdulAzeez Yari yesterday ruled Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, was out of order over his claim that the $1b recently approved for the fight against Boko Haram is a ruse.

    The governors, at a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday, gave the federal government the green light to withdraw the money from the Excess Crude Account.

    Fayose, in a statement at the weekend, said he was not part of the decision and claimed that the request for the money made no sense since the federal government had earlier boasted of defeating the terror sect.

    He also alleged that the money would be diverted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s political campaign in 2019.

    But responding to Fayose’s allegations yesterday, Yari who is also the governor of Zamfara State said the decision was a collective one by the forum.

    He said Fayose’s absence from the meeting did not clear him or anyone for that matter of responsibility for the forum’s resolutions.

    His words:”I am saying that that statement was an unfair cut against the Forum.

    “When a decision is taken by the Forum in one’s absence, once there was a quorum at the meeting where the decision was taken, (it) becomes binding on all.

    “I am sure Fayose was not making the statement to undermine the Forum. He was just doing his thing.”

    Continuing, the Zamfara governor said the decision was a conscious sign by the two parties to show the synergy between the NGF and the Presidency which ought not to be politicized.

    “This same lack of unity between governors and the presidency had brought about poor governance in the past, throughout the country and now that we are working together no one should constitute a wedge in the process.

    “You can never spend too much on security because the safety of lives and property are the most cardinal among all the principles of governance, in any democracy.

    Governor Yari pointed out that the issue of withdrawal was broadly deliberated at the forum’s meeting on the eve of the NEC meeting where the decision was taken.

    “If Governor Fayose was there at the meeting, he would have seen the wisdom in the decision. Yes, the administration is claiming to have decimated the insurgents out of Sambisa Forest but they are re-emerging in different flashpoints across the country.

    “They need to be tackled wherever they are and the NGF decided to support the Presidency just as it (The Presidency) had been supporting states with their own problems.

    “Governor Fayose is on his own. We have to protect our people and we have to do it with everything we have.

    “Let me reemphasize one more thing, Mr President is a responsible and honest leader who does not believe in money politics and he would never divert public resources into it.”

    Fayose, in his statement had said:”For posterity sake, I wish to place it on record that I was not among the governors who approved the withdrawal of almost half of our savings in the Excess Crude Account, which belongs to the three tiers of government to fight an already defeated insurgency.

    “Since they said they have defeated Boko Haram, what else do they need a whopping sum of $1 billion (over N360 billion) for; if not to fund the 2019 elections?

    “The APC promised to wipe out Boko Haram within six months, now it is 31 months and what the APC government is wiping out is the economy of Nigeria and the means of livelihood of the people.”

    The governor said N360 billion was equivalent to what the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) share to the federal government, 36 States and 777 Local Councils monthly, nothing that “Nigerians deserve proper explanations from the federal government on the rationale behind spending such huge sum of money to fight an already defeated Boko Haram.”

     

  • APC, Fayose felicitate with Buhari on 75th birthday

    As President Muhammadu Buhari turns 75 years today, his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) has sent him birthday wishes, hailing his leadership style.

    The APC in a statement yesterday by its national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun hailed Buhari for “building a new Nigeria for our progress, peace, unity and prosperity.”

    The President, it added must be commended for “restoring our country to its deserved standing among the comity of progressive nations; fighting corruption and repairing our value system; diversifying our economic revenue base, creating jobs and economic opportunities for Nigerians; bringing succour to the insurgency-ravaged North-East; reforming the oil, defence, pensions, and other critical sectors and creating a world-class transport system, among others.”

    It wished him many more happy, healthy and rewarding years of service to the nation and party.

    In a similar way, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State said the President had “served the nation as far as he could with his advance age.”

    He said:”This is to congratulate Mr. President as he clocks 75.

    “I want to thank God for his life and pray for good health in the service of our nation and that he continues to age with grace. I wish him the best.

    “He represents us all and we owe him prayers and cooperation where necessary, just as we also need to criticise him too where necessary.”

    Asked what he would tell the President if he met him on his birthday, Fayose said he would congratulate him, not minding the political differences between them.

    On what would be his advice to the President on his rumoured second term bid, Fayose noted that it would be honourable for the President to call it quit now.

  • Fayemi must account for N2.75bn bond cash – Ekiti panel

    Fayemi must account for N2.75bn bond cash – Ekiti panel

    Snippets of the report of the Ekiti State Judicial Commission of Inquiry raised to probe financial transactions by the former Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration were released late on Wednesday.

    The seven-member panel submitted its report to Governor Ayo Fayose at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office in Ado-Ekiti.

    The panel led by Justice Silas Oyewole (retd) in its report said Fayemi must account for the whereabouts of N2.75 billion allocated from the N25 billion bond obtained by his administration for the construction of the Ado Ekiti Ultramodern Market.

    The panel said the project was never executed.

    It also said the contractor that handled the furnishing of the Government House built by the Fayemi administration should be made to refund N324.8 million, noting that the contract should not have been more than N280 million.

    The panel said it found out that Kitwood Nigeria Limited to which the furnishing contract of over N600 million was awarded had no traceable address and that “the address on the Letter of Award is a virgin land opposite the new Central Bank along New Iyin Road, Ado-Ekiti.

    On the purchase of vehicles, the panel said “claim by Coscharis Motors that it supplied 235 and/or 250 vehicles was fraudulent and fraught with so many contradictions.

    “That Coscharis Motors supplied some vehicles outside Ekiti State especially, at Ibadan Liaison office, when Ekiti State Government does not have a Liaison office in Ibadan. In respect of this, seven vehicles were supplied outside the state and signed for by unknown persons.

    “That Coscharis Motors only supplied 219 vehicles to the Ekiti State government and that 17 Joylong Buses were supplied to the Ekiti State Government as gift but later carted away.”

    On the controversial N852.9 million State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) fund, the panel alleged that the Fayemi administration hoodwinked the federal government into paying its own matching grant by obtaining N852, 936,783.12 loan from Access Bank on November 25, 2013 without perfecting documentation in respect of the loan, thereby flouting the provisions of Section 11(2) of the UBEC Act, 2004.

  • Fayose can set up probe panel on Fayemi, says court

    Fayose can set up probe panel on Fayemi, says court

    An Ekiti State High Court has ruled that the Judicial Commission of Enquiry, which Governor Ayodele Fayose set up to probe the state’s finances under former Governor Kayode Fayemi, is in order.

    The panel, led by former Acting Chief Judge, Justice Silas Oyewole (retd), was set up to examine the state’s  finances between October 2010 and October 2014.

    In his judgment yesterday, Justice Adekanye Lekan Ogunmoye, of High Court 6, held that Fayose had powers to set up the panel without the prompting of the House of Assembly.

    Justice Ogunmoye held that Fayose acted pursuant to Section 2 (1) of the Commission Enquiry Law, Cap. C10, Laws of Ekiti State.

    According to him, the governor does not need to consult the House of Assembly or anyone else before setting up the commission of enquiry.

    Justice Ogunmoye agreed the Assembly cannot direct the governor to set up the enquiry.

    Last May, Fayose constituted the panel to probe the income and expenditure of the government and projects executed under Fayemi.

    The former governor had filed the suit, seeking an injunction to restrain the government and the probe panel from carrying out its assignment.

    Fayemi said he might not get justice from the panel because its members were cronies of Fayose, who he said had been handed the hatchet job to nail him at all cost.

    Reacting, Fayemi’s lawyer Akingbade Ogunmoyela said the court agreed that the Assembly could not direct the governor to set up the enquiry.

  • Fayose, Mark, Olujimi seek action to reduce poverty

    Fayose, Mark, Olujimi seek action to reduce poverty

    To reduce the pervasive poverty in the land, there must be holistic efforts from the government and the elites, it was learnt  on Monday.

    Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, former Senate President David Mark and the  senator representing Ekiti South, Abiodun Olujimi, made the call at the launch of a book written by a former senator, Bode Ola (Ekiti Central), titled: Why The Poor Are Still With Us in Abuja.

    Fayose, who was represented by Ayodele Oladimeji, noted that unemployment was affecting the lives of youths.

    The governor said the nation’s elite as well as the government have key roles to play in addressing the poverty challenges.

    He decried increasing unemployment and underemployment rates in the land.

    Fayose said: “Today, the major challenge is unemployment. After unemployment, we equally have underemployment. I spoke with two people in Ekiti State on Sunday: the husband is teaching at a primary school and the wife is equally teaching in another nursery and primary school. Each of them earns N15,000 per month. You can then imagine the condition of the children this couple will rear.”

    On the book, the governor said it captures the challenges confronting the poor masses of the country and proffered solutions.

    He urged the elite to use the book for the benefit of the masses.

    Fayose said: “The book highlights the challenges of the poor masses. What are their needs? What can the elite do to assist them?”

    Mark noted that the book launch was timely because it sought to identify the major causes of poverty and how to eradicate it from the society.

    He said: “I cannot think of a more important and timely topic for Nigeria than issue of poverty and the large number of the poor in the society.”

    Olujimi stressed the need to prioritise the welfare of the people.

    The senator decried the level of poverty in the country, saying the people were becoming spiritually and socially poor.

    She noted that “a country where its citizens die because they could not afford a malaria drug of N1,000 is a poor country”.

    Olujimi called for reorientation among the people, saying: “Government needs to take charge and look after the people.”

    Senator Bode Ola said poverty was a major bane to posterity.

    Quoting the world’s statistics on poverty, the senator said this should be a source of concern to all, considering the state of the nation’s economy.

  • Fayemi: Ekiti probe panel valid – Court

    Fayemi: Ekiti probe panel valid – Court

    An Ekiti State High Court has ruled that the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the handling of finances under former Governor Kayode Fayemi is valid and has the force of law.

    The panel led by former Acting Chief Judge of Ekiti, Justice Silas Oyewole (retd), was set up by Governor Ayo Fayose to look into financial transactions of the state between October 2010 and October 2014.

    In his judgment on Wednesday, Justice Adekanye Lekan Ogunmoye of High Court 6, held that Fayose has powers to set up the panel of inquiry without the prompting of the House of Assembly and that he properly so acted.

    Ogunmoye held that Fayose acted pursuant to Section 2 (1) of the Commission Inquiry Law Cap C10 Laws of Ekiti State.

    According to the judge, the governor does not need to consult the House of Assembly or anyone before setting up the commission of inquiry.

    Ogunmoye, however, agreed that the State House of Assembly has no rights to direct the governor to set up the inquiry.

    Fayose had in May constituted the panel to probe the income and expenditure carried out and projects executed under Fayemi.

    Fayemi had filed suit No. HAD/57/2017 and approached the court to restrain the state government and the panel from going ahead with the exercise.

    The ex-governor alleged that he could not get justice from the panel because its members are cronies of Fayose who had been handed the hatchet job to nail him at all cost.

    Reacting to the judgment, Fayemi’s counsel, Mr. Akingbade Ogunmoyela said the court has agreed that the State House of Assembly has no right to direct the governor to set up the inquiry, saying it was of the opinion of the court based on the Ekiti Commission of Inquiry law that the governor has right to set the commission.

    Ogunmoyela said he wouldn’t know whether or not his client would appeal the judgment.

     

  • Fayose presents N98b budget

    Fayose presents N98b budget

    •Governor campaigns for deputy at budget presentation

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose yesterday presented the 2018 Appropriation Bill of N98.6 billion to the House of Assembly.

    The governor used the occasion to campaign for his deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, as his preferred successor.

    The occasion was his valedictory budget speech in which he presented Olusola to traditional rulers, lawmakers and other stakeholders as his “anointed candidate”.

    Fayose said: “You must support him (Olusola) for the governorship in the spirit of continuity and sustainability of the government’s policies.”

    The N98,611,545,040.22 budget, tagged: Budget of Continuity, has a recurrent expenditure of N66,442,426,169.81 billion and N32,169,118,870.85 billion as capital expenditure.

    According to him, the budget estimate will be financed through Federal allocation, internally generated revenue (IGR), Value Added Tax (VAT), Paris Club refunds and other sundry sources.

    Fayose, who appeared in a flowing agbada, which he described as a “presidential look”, said he would be the next President, even if doubting Thomases do not believe.

    The governor promised to complete ongoing projects before he leaves office on October 15, next year.

    He added that the new High Court complex would be delivered next March while the overhead bridge in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, would be completed in May and the new Erekesan Market in July.

    Fayose said the budget accords high priority to stomach infrastructure, payment of salaries and improvement in the state’s IGR.

    He added: “My continuity philosophy is aimed at continuous and sustainable improvement and progress of Ekiti State, even after my tenure in office expires.

    “I will work for you and I will redouble my efforts at serving you until I hand over the mantle of leadership to my tested and preferred candidate, who is capable and trusted to continue the developmental race from where I would stop.

    “That is why I want to give Ekiti a man they can trust like me, a man who can be prudent in spending and sustain good taste. This is because my deputy is a professor of Building Technology.

    “Let me assure you, the Oja Oba will be inaugurated by July, which is just a few days before election and the flyover will be delivered by May, all in 2018.

    “We are going to block leakages and ensure that salaries are paid.

    “Just like I have said, I am not going to leave Ekiti and still be indebted to workers. That, I can assure Ekiti people.”

    Speaker Kola Oluwawole assured that the Appropriation Bill would be given expeditious passage so that the state can kick-start its projects early next year.

    He said: “The country has learnt a lesson from the ongoing recession that it is wrong to put all one’s eggs in one basket. The economy is dependent solely on oil at the expense of solid minerals and agriculture.

    “We know the resources of this state are limited, but the lawmakers will not shy away from its oversight functions. We will support the governor to ensure prudent management of the lean resources available.”