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Tag: Fayose

  • Fayose: dead civil servants’ names on Ekiti’s payroll

    Fayose: dead civil servants’ names on Ekiti’s payroll

    The names of many dead civil servants are still on Ekiti State’s payroll, Governor Ayo Fayose said at the weekend.

    He warned that officials in charge would henceforth be held responsible to prevent financial leakages, which, he said, are robbing government of millions of naira.

    According to the governor, such funds supposed to be channelled to other places for people’s benefit.

    The governor handed down the warning at the weekend during a meeting with Directors of Finance and Accounts, Directors of Administration, Chief Internal Auditors and others from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    The meeting was convened to find solutions to the problems associated with generating wholesome nominal and pay rolls by the MDAs.

    Fayose added that his administration might stop the central payment of state and local government workers’ salaries.

    Local governments, he said, would be encouraged to pay their workers at their own levels.

    Warning against what he called “careless endorsement of documents by civil servants, Fayose frowned at a situation whereby people that had left the service or are dead still had their names on the nominal roll.

    He said: “Unfortunately, such names are still not removed when the pay roll is being prepared as well. Why should we be spending our scarce resources wastefully?

    “We are no longer going to tolerate the issue of buck-passing, where someone would claim he is not the one that generates the nominal roll and so does not properly go through before preparing the payroll.

    “Henceforth too, the nominal and pay rolls must be properly scrutinised by the internal auditors before being signed. The system has adequate checks and balances already in place and if not for collusion by concerned public servants, no sharp practices could take place.

    “It is advisable that every officer properly goes through any document before signing such, as the person who endorses any document is going to be held responsible in case of any trouble,” he said.

  • Fayose right for once

    Fayose right for once

    His law to tame herdsmen’s excesses is largely welcome

    Those who know me at least fairly well know that Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State is not my dream governor. So, there is no way I can celebrate him as a role model. But there is one issue on which the two of us are agreed, and that is how to curtail the excesses of herdsmen. Some wonder how Fayose can be opposed to impunity because he swims in it himself; how then can he be against herdsmen who live by and kill with impunity? The same people asking the question say the answer can be found in the governor’s anti-Muhammadu Buhari stance. In other words, the action is part of the governor’s way of showing his disapproval of the Buhari government, or is it Buhari as a person?

    For Fayose Monday, August 29 was a memorable day. Anyone who saw him when signing the “Prohibition of Cattle and other Ruminants Grazing in Ekiti Bill, 2016 into law would have seen the posture of triumphalism in the governor. He was in his elements, and this should send the right signals to those who care that he was not ready to tolerate the arbitrariness and impunity of the herdsmen in his state. The law prevents free grazing of cattle in the state and carrying of firearms by herdsmen. It also restricts grazing period to between 7am and 6pm, with six months jail term without an option of fine to any herdsman, who circumvents the law.

    Given that Ekiti State has not suffered any serious casualty from herdsmen, one is tempted to agree with those who believe that the bill is Fayose’s way of continuing the battle between him and President Buhari by other means. They may be right; they may be wrong. But the question is: should a governor wait until a festering problem in other places get to his doorstep before taking action to stem it? I don’t think so. So, the governor, for me, has only been proactive, irrespective of the propelling force behind the law. He should not wait until Ekiti people become mincemeat in the hands of those who do not know that there is any other right apart from their own right to graze cattle.

    Naturally, such a law will not be without antagonists. It is therefore not surprising that the direct stakeholders in the state, the herdsmen, are among the first set of people to pick holes in the law. Counsel to the Ekiti State Chapter of the Jamu Nate Fulbe Association of Nigeria, an umbrella body for herdsmen in the state, Mr. Umar Imam, said it was wrong for Governor Fayose to charge erring members of the association with terrorism for carrying light weapons. According to him, those carrying weapons like cutlasses, catapults, arrows and knives within the time stipulated by the law cannot be labelled terrorists.

    Speaking in similar vein, the Seriki of the association in Ekiti, Alhaji Ahmadu Mahmoud, appealed to the governor to amend the law, to enable his members carry lesser arms to ward off attacks from robbers.

    Imam said: “The law of the federation on terrorism is very clear and no one can be charged for terrorism for carrying lesser arms like cutlasses, catapults and knives during the grazing period as contained in Ekiti new law”. He added: “I also told them that movement at night while relocating from one place to another was to ensure that they don’t wreak havoc on the people during the day while relocating to other towns. I expected the state government to have taken care of these in the new law rather than total banning. What the state government ought to have done is to allow whoever wants to relocate at night to take permit from a certain government’s authority or inform their Seriki, but banning them from moving at night may not help the situation, it will make their jobs difficult”, Imam said.

    It is easy for critical stakeholders in the cattle business to defend night movement by herdsmen but those who had lost their lives and limbs, including their livelihood to herdsmen’s brutality would have a different story to tell. Ask victims of herdsmen’s attacks across the land, from Benue to Oyo, Ogun, Enugu Adamawa, etc. and they would readily tell you that they stand behind Fayose as far as the law is concerned. The point is, nothing short of the present freedom of the herdsmen will do for those involved in the cattle business.

    The lesson from all these is that even as laudable as Fayose’s audacity in making the law is, it is still not the solution to the herdsmen’s problem. What many Nigerians are pushing for is the establishment of cattle ranches all over the country. Cattle-rearing is big business; so, those into it must be ready to make the necessary investment in tandem not only with the dictates of their host communities but also in consonance with the demands of civilisation. The truth of the matter is that cattle-rearing at any time of the day the way our ancestors did it several decades ago has become anachronistic and unacceptable all over the civilised world.

    A situation where herdsmen carry sophisticated weapons like AK47 rifles in the name of protecting themselves against attacks from armed robbers and other marauders will not even be necessary when they have ranches. The good news here is the new deal by Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Bankers Committee (BC) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMA &RD) which said it was set to begin rail haulage for cattle and agricultural produce; this would hopefully make cattle rearing on our roads and farms a thing of the past . We present ourselves as primitive and impervious to change when cattle are allowed to roam about our streets as in the days of old.

    The Federal Government is committing a lot of money to rail transportation, and this is a good development. As many businesses as possible must be ready to hook onto the railways to transport their products. As a matter of fact, the signal to those into road haulage is that such mode of transportation is no longer sustainable. Apart from the damage to our roads, such heavy duty vehicles also constitute a menace to other road users. If people in this business are accepting this as a reality, there is no reason why herdsmen should think they can continue business in a crude and primitive manner in a rapidly changing world.

     

  • Fayose signs bill to try herdsmen for terrorism

    Fayose signs bill to try herdsmen for terrorism

    •Governor signs Anti-Grazing Bill into law

    EKITI State Governor Ayo Fayose yesterday signed a bill to regulate grazing, into law, with a warning that any herdsman caught with arms will face charges of terrorism.

    The governor said the law would curtail activities of suspected herdsmen, who move about with firearms, unleashing terror on citizens.

    According to the new law, any offender arrested and convicted is liable to six months’ imprisonment without any option of fine.

    Grazing activities in designated places would take place between 7 am and 6 pm daily in Ekiti State.

    The governor vowed that his administration will enforce the law, noting that the law was not targeted at any particular group but to ensure that the state does not descend into anarchy and senseless bloodletting.

    Fayose signed the bill into law, with traditional rulers, community leaders and interest groups present.

    He promised to convoke such a meeting once in three months to review the security situation and other issues affecting the state.

    The governor earlier meet with the monarchs and community leaders at the Osuntokun Lodge of the Government House before giving his assent to the law in the open.

    He said the bill became expedient to prevent a recurrence of an attack by suspected herdsmen on Oke Ako in Ikole Local Government, where two people were killed and scores injured on May 20.

    The governor noted that by working with rulers, he would get a feedback on those plundering state resources, such as trees, farmlands and others.

    Fayose said: “My government took the bill to the House after what happened in Oke Ako some months ago. The House has passed the bill and I have to assent it. It becomes a law from today that if you do anything to the contrary you will be punished by the law.”

    Any herdsman caught with firearms or any weapon while grazing in Ekiti now will be charged with terrorism. I solicit your support for this government to succeed.”

    The provisions of the law was read to the audience by the House of Assembly Speaker, Kola Oluwawole, who said the government will collaborate with local councils to apportion lands for grazing in designated areas.

     

     

     

  • Udiroko festival: Fayose restates plan to build airport

    Udiroko festival: Fayose restates plan to build airport

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has restated the commitment of his administration to build an airport in Ado-Ekiti, as soon as all hindrances to the project are cleared.

    The governor, who made the pledge yesterday at this year’s Udiroko Festival at the palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, Aladesanmi III, promised the people more development.

    The city was in festivity for many hours as indigenes, visitors, friends and associates thronged the palace amphitheatre, where a robust cultural display showcased the rich cultural heritage of Ekiti people.

    The festival was attended by Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Kenneth Kobani.

    Fayose canvassed the restoration of history into the education curriculum of public and private schools.

    He said it would help pupils to know about the past to lay a foundation for the future.

    The Fayose administration attempted to build an airport on Ijan Road but the project was stopped by an Ado Ekiti High Court, following a suit filed by land owners and commercial farmers, whose land was taken over.

    The court ruled in favour of the land owners and plantation farmers and awarded them N5 million compensation.

    But Fayose said all hope was not lost on the airport project.

    Fayose said: “I would have loved to have Ekiti Airport and I’m still nursing that ambition and waiting for the slightest opportunity. Ekiti airport will facilitate development for our state.

    “It doesn’t matter what anybody is saying. Many years after, they would come to appreciate what we are doing. So far so good, in spite of the paucity of resources in our coffers, we are not doing badly.”

    “The amphitheatre is here, which I built, the fly over bridge and Oja Oba are ongoing. The Onala-Awedele dual carriageway roads and others are here. So, I want to tell you that I’m happy.

    The governor added: “Udiroko has become a national festival. Look at the crowd here. Ekiti has never witnessed this huge crowd in the history of the festival.”

    Oba Adejugbe hailed Fayose for the projects carried out by his administration since his comeback to power in 2014, saying Ado Ekiti community is impressed and fulfilled with the flyover project from Fajuyi to Ojumose.

    “Like Oliver Twist, I’m begging the governor to help complete the Oba Adejugbe Hospital for and effective health care delivery.”

     

     

  • Fayose urges Fed Govt to implement 2014 confab report

    Fayose urges Fed Govt to implement 2014 confab report

    •Governor canvasses true federalism, state police

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has urged the Federal Government to implement the report and recommendations of the 2014 National Conference to tackle various problems afflicting the polity.

    He warned against consigning the report into the dustbin of history, expressing confidence that it would serve the collective interest of the citizenry, if implemented.

    Fayose advocated the need for restructuring, the practice of true federalism and the establishment of state police to tackle security challenges.

    He accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government of reneging on its campaign promise and manifesto on restructuring and entrenching true federalism.

    Fayose, in a statement yesterday, alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration “is returning to full-blown unitary system”.

    The governor expressed regrets that Nigeria developed faster in the 50s and 60s, when it was practicing a loose federalism in which states were allowed to develop at their own pace.

    He maintained that the federating states must be strengthened to develop.

    He spoke in reaction to the consensus reached last Thursday at a parley held by the APC in the Southwest, contending “that the party must now go beyond playing to the gallery and set machineries in motion to restructure the country”.

  • Fayose fails to stop EFCC probe

    Fayose fails to stop EFCC probe

    Governor Ayo Fayose  yesterday failed  in his bid to stop the anti-graft agencies from probing Ekiti State’s finances and bank accounts.

    An Ado Ekiti High Court declined to grant an ex parte order sought by his administration to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating the  government’s financial records.

    Justice Cornelius Akintayo ordered that EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Department of State Service (DSS) be put on notice before the case can be heard.

    The judge adjourned the suit till Tuesday and ordered all parties to appear before him for the hearing of the motion on notice.

    The suit was filed by Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Owoseni Ajayi, to stop the impending investigation of the accounts of the government by the EFCC.

    Another relief sought by the plaintiffs was an order stopping the arrest of the Commissioner for Finance, Accountant General and the managers of the affected banks.

    Eighteen defendants were named in the suit and they include the Speaker of the House of Assembly, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Department of State Service (DSS), Commissioner for Finance, Accountant General and five banks doing business with state government and the managers of those banks.

    The plaintiffs were represented by Barrister Ejelonu, a lawyer in the chambers of the Attorney General held brief for Ahmed Raji (SAN), who argued the motion ex parte.

    A senior lawyer, Kolade Ilesanmi, who came for another matter in the same court, hailed Justice Akintayo for rejecting the motion to prevent the anti-graft agencies from investigating the government’s accounts.

    Ilesanmi said: “Myself and another counsel, Abubakar Ajibade, who came for different matters stood up as friends of the court and commended the judge for the ruling.

    “We also adverted the minds of the court to similar case before the Akwa Ibom High Court in which the judge granted a motion ex parte, which has now landed him trouble with the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    “From the legal point of view, any matter involving federal institutions are usually heard by the Federal High Court save for the matters that border on fundamental rights enforcement in which both the Federal High Courts and state high courts are seized with jurisdiction.”

  • Court rejects Fayose’s bid to stop EFCC probe

    An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti on Thursday declined to grant an ex parte order sought by Governor Ayodele Fayose to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating the financial records of the state government.

    Justice Cornelius Akintayo refused to grant the order on grounds that the 17th-19th defendants – EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Department of State Services (DSS) – should be put on notice to prepare for their defence at the court.
    The judge consequently adjourned the suit to August 23 and ordered all parties in the matter to appear before him when the motion notice would be heard.
    The suit was filed by Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Owoseni Ajayi, to stop the impending investigation of the state government’s accounts by the EFCC.
    Another relief sought by the plaintiffs was an order stopping the arrest of the Commissioner for Finance, Accountant General and the managers of the affected banks.
  • Fayose raises the alarm on being under house arrest

    Fayose raises the alarm on being under house arrest

    Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose yesterday claimed that he was under house arrest in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. He was in Port Harcourt for the party’s botched convention.

    He said he was not at the convention ground, because he was placed under house arrest at the old Presidential Lodge of the Government House, Port Harcourt.

    Fayose was absent at the meeting that took place at the state secretariat of the PDP on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, after security agencies sealed off the Sharks Stadium venue of the convention.

    He said an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was used to block the gate of the Presidential Lodge.

     Fayose’s Media Assistant, Lere Olayinka, claimed that all efforts to get his boss to attend the PDP meeting were rebuffed by the security personnel. He described the action as unbelievable and unfortunate.

    The Rivers State Police Command said it was not aware of Fayose being placed under house arrest.

    Rivers police Spokesman, Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a telephone interview yesterday evening, said that there was no report of such incident.

    Omoni insisted that officers and men of the Rivers police command were law abiding and polite, with emphasis always placed on due process and rule of law.

    Chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike berated the security  agencies  for refusing  to  obey the judgment  order of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.

    He said: “All the vehicles used by the police  to invade the Sharks Stadium were bought  by my administration.  All the armoured personnel  carriers they used were serviced by my administration.  What happened  was unfortunate.

    “If the  PDP had used the security agencies to torment  the APC  this way, by now the APC  wouldn’t  have been in power.”

    He went on: “Sheriff is not an asset to PDP  because  he cannot  win elections in Borno state.  For us, we are working  to rebuild  the  party.”

  • ‘Mimiko, Fayose zoning pact won’t work’

    ‘Mimiko, Fayose zoning pact won’t work’

    A factional group within the Southwest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to remain defiant against the “zoning within zoning” arrangement being championed by  Governors Ayodele Fayose and Olusegun Mimiko to elect the party’s national chairman.

    The group, led in Oyo State by top supporters of Prof. Taoheed Ladoja and the zonal factional chairman, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, said the position of the two governors was not bidding on the party.

    According to them, the decision of the two governors was self-serving and not in the party’s interest.

    Sighted with Adedoja at the Oyo State PDP Secretariat were party leaders like former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin, former PDP state Chairman Mr. Yinka Taiwo and Secretary Alhaji Bashiru Akanbi, former Minister for Special Duties Elder Wole Oyelese, two former Speakers of the state House Assembly Maroof Atilola and Asimiyu Alarape and others from the state’s six geo-political zones.

    Adedoja, who admitted that though he was present at the meeting in Akure jointly presided over by Mimiko and Fayose, said nothing would stop him from going on to contest the national chairmanship position.

    In a chat with The Nation yesterday, he said the party’s position is supreme “and it is on that position we stand”.

    Describing the position of the two governors in Akure as inconsequential, Adedoja said he was qualified to occupy the national chairmanship seat, having been tested as a politician, who had connections across the Niger and speaks the mind and language of the North.

    He said: “Even as I am speaking with you, our campaign train is now in Warri, Delta State. And we are already having the support of the North. I am much favoured  because of my pedigree and we have made our position known even at the Akure meeting that we are not for  zoning within zoning arrangement. That is for the two governors and not for the party.

    “We have the party members behind us and we shall prevail over them. All we know is that the position of the party’s national chairman has been zoned to the Southwest. Today, as I am speaking , there are four contenders in the race, my humble self from Oyo State, Chief Bode George and Jimi Agbaje from Lagos State and Professor Tunde Adediran from Ekiti State.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ekiti workers’ group berates Fayose over outburst on Buhari

    Ekiti workers’ group berates Fayose over outburst on Buhari

    An interest group in Ekiti State Civil Service, the Enlightened Workers’ Forum (EWF) has criticized Governor Ayo Fayose for his outbursts on a radio programme, where he attacked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the recent seizure of his assets.

    The workers said they are in full support the anti-corruption agenda of the Buhari administration and the efforts of the anti-graft agency to ensure that the commonwealth of Ekiti people and assets purchased with arms slush funds are recovered.

    They called on Fayose to pay the remaining arrears of workers’ salaries and all entitlements due to pensioners “majority of whom are dying at home because they have been neglected by the state government and denied their rights.”

    In a statement issued on Friday by EWF Coordinator, Mike Bamidele, the workers dissociated Ekiti people from the anti-Buhari utterances of Fayose made on a live programme on an Ibadan, Oyo State-based radio station, Fresh FM, which was relayed on the state-owned electronic media.

    The workers’ group took a strong exception to Fayose’s statement on the radio programme condemning the freezing of his personal bank account and seizure of houses linked to him when he (Fayose) asked ‘whose father’s money got lost and whose father’s houses were lost?’

    The EWF contended that the EFCC cannot fold its arms and look the other way when there are concrete and incontrovertible evidence that funds belonging to Ekiti were allegedly diverted to buy choice properties within 180 days of Fayose’s assumption of power.

    The group urged the EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Department of State Services (DSS) to beam their searchlights on other banks apart from Zenith Bank to recover state funds allegedly stashed there.

    The statement read: “The EFCC, ICPC and DSS still have a lot to do in Ekiti State, they should not limit their investigations to Zenith Bank alone; other banks must also be investigated and every nook and cranny of the state should be combed.”