The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Governor Kayode Fayemi

  • Ekiti community to Fayose: ‘revive Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort’

    Ekiti community to Fayose: ‘revive Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort’

    The traffic of tourists to the famous Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort in Ekiti State has reduced as a result of dilapidation of facilities put in place by the administration of former Governor Kayode Fayemi. But the Ayo Fayose administration has said it was not to blame for the alleged decay and abandonment of the resort as alleged by the people.

    Residents of Ikogosi-Ekiti in Ekiti West Local Government Area of Ekiti State are angry that the Ikogosi Warm Spring, a famous tourist attraction, which attracted global attention to the community, has been allegedly abandoned by Governor Ayo Fayose, less than four years after he took over from his predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

    The resort is reputed to be the only place in the world where nature bestowed such a wonder. Streams of warm and cold water flow side-by-side to meet at a point.

    Visitors, who  had visited the place were surprised by such nature’s gift to man. The place which had drawn tourists from far and near needed a Midas touch to enable it to attain an international standard.

    Had this tourist centre been located in places such as Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa  or Western countries, it would have been turned to a goldmine that would bring foreign exchange into the coffers of governments of those countries.

    Two attempts had been made to make Ikogosi Warm Spring functional by two administrations in Ekiti State. But unfortunately, the resort had been so dilapidation due to alleged neglect by successive administrations.

    The Ikogosi Warm Spring had a chequered history. American Baptist missionaries led by Reverend John McGee were the first set of people to inhabit the place.

    They were astonished by such an amazing gift of nature and made the place their home as they came to evangelise the people in the early 20th Century.

    They built chalets, a chapel, lawn tennis courts, a football field, fruit orchards and a swimming pool to make the place habitable and a place to have a nice rest after coming back from their evangelical outreaches each day.

    The centre received government’s attention for the first time during the military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo before it was later transferred to the old Ondo State.

    The military government in the old Ondo State built a zoological park to make the centre more attractive to holidaymakers.

    But an unfortunate incident happened when one of the zoo keepers was devoured by lions kept in the zoological park. This was why the military government stop the maintenance of the zoo.

    With the creation of Ekiti State in 1996 and the enthronement of the first civilian government of Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo in 1999, the fortunes of Ikogosi changed for better.

    Adebayo renovated the centre, built more chalets and furnished all rooms to international standards. The place became bubbly again.

    The ex-governor entered into partnership with the United African Company of Nigeria (UACN) then led by an Ekiti son, Mr. Ayo Ajayi for the bottling of Ikogosi natural water.

    The fortunes of the Ikogosi Warm Spring allegedly dipped with the coming to power of the Ayo Fayose in 2003 as he was not bothered to continue from where the Adebayo administration stopped.

    But the Kayode Fayemi’s government brought the Ikogosi Resort back to life again with a comprehensive re-development plan handled by  Mantis Group, a South African firm,  which began in 2011. Mantis Group runs many resorts and hotels in South Africa, Nigeria and many other countries.

    The first phase of the Ikogosi re-development included the construction of new chalets, internal roads, swimming pools and new conference centres, among other facilities.

    The second phase which would have seen Ikogosi linked with the nearby Arinta Waterfalls in Ipole Iloro by cable cars was not achievable because  Fayemi’s regime ended after the 2014 governorship polls.

    The reconstruction of Ikogosi Resort brought back local and international tourists and generated jobs for members of the community.

    Ikogosi Resort hosted local, national and international conferences. The popular Nigeria National Media Merit Award for 2013 was held at the resort which further publicised it as a destination of choice.

    Less than four years after the Fayemi administration left the Ekiti Government House, history is repeating itself on the alleged abandonment and decay of Ikogosi Warm Spring.

    Residents are wondering why the resort, which is capable of generating revenue for government, was left to rot at a time government was yearning for cash to meet its needs.

    Apparently saddened by the development, a community leader in Ikogosi-Ekiti, High Chief Ayo Ademiluwa, has criticised Governor Fayose for alleged deliberate abandonment of the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort which he described as world-class tourist centre.

    Ademiluwa, who is a member of the community’s traditional cabinet, the Onikogosi-in-Council, under the leadership of the Onikogosi, Oba Elijah Olorunnisola, said the abandonment of the tourist centre has ruined it.

    The Asaoye of Ikogosi-Ekiti spoke against the background of the impending liquidation of Warm Spring Waters Limited, producers of the famous Gossy Water, over alleged government’s abandonment.

    Ademiluwa, in an open letter to Fayose, a copy of which was made available to Southwest Report, wondered why Fayose should play politics with a venture that generates income for the state and employment for its people.

    He recalled that the administration of Adebayo revived the resort by renovating its facilities and facilitating arrangement with UACN to bottle the natural spring water which gave rise to Gossy Water.

    Ademiluwa noted that Fayose’s first coming sounded the death knell for the resort with the alleged looting of furniture, furnishings and other equipment.

    According to him, the Fayemi administration carried out a comprehensive re-development of the resort through a partnership with a foreign consortium which made the centre to attract tourists from all over the world.

    Nearly four years after Fayemi left office, Ademiluwa said the resort had decayed; blaming the development on “moving the centre to the bureaucratic hands of civil servants to pillage the entre once again.”

    Ademiluwa said: “Termites and cobwebs began the macabre dance once again. Ikogosi-Ekiti was thrown into darkness as the town was cut off from the national grid.

    “Gossy Waters and the Centre started the unprofitable romance with diesel and power generating sets. The state government’s patronage of Gossy Waters stopped.

    “My brothers and sisters lost their jobs and got thrown into the unemployment market. Ceilings, roofs and walkways started collapsing without any repair or concern at the centre.

    “The youth of my town made several peaceful protests for the Fayose government to step into the electricity issue all to no avail.

    “The Onikogosi-in-Council made several efforts to meet with the governor but was denied audience. The few cases of false promises by the government agents to intimate the governor were just mere gimmicks to nip youth’s protests in the bud.

    “The Obanla of Ikogosi led me and many other chiefs to Ado-Ekiti sometime in 2016. But Fayose did not grant us audience.

    “He tactfully directed us to  the local government chairman who would brief later him. My town has been in darkness-no electricity in Ikogosi, Ipole-Iloro and Erijiyan since the inception of Fayose’s regime, yet they say we have a government in Ekiti. My heart bleeds.

    “This government will wind up in October, this year and this is just February. I know we have made several attempts collectively and individually to present our plight to you, Governor Fayose. This is another plea.

    “We are a town known for peace; we are not at war with the government of the day. You still have till October to rewrite your name in gold.

    “Rescue Gossy Waters from winding up, halt the decay at the warm spring centre, step into the electricity and water crises in my hometown and save the few private ventures from experiencing the plight of Gossy Waters.

    “Look into the claims of marginalisation by my people, treat my town and, in fact, all Ekiti towns with love like you treat Afao-Ekiti, your hometown and you would have successfully rescued my poor heart from bleeding.”

    But the Fayose government absolved itself of any blame in the alleged mismanagement of the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort and the impending liquidation of the Gossy Water Company.

    Commissioner for Information, Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, accused the Fayemi administration of not fully utilising the Bond money used to finance the re-development of the resort.

    Ogunsuyi said power supply was the major problem that crippled activities at Ikogosi and that the resort and its subsidiary (Gossy Water) is a private enterprise devoid of government’s interference.

    He said: “If the community has been complaining about the neglect of the town, it would have been a different story but the company has the right to approach the government if it sees the need for the government to do anything.

    “Concerning the complaint raised by the community, I want to urge the Ikogosi community to look into the White Paper recently released and look at the money released from the Bond sourced by the past government.

    “They will discover that the money from the Bond for Ikogosi was not fully utilised. N1 billion was obtained as loan and we are paying back the loan.

    “It is unfair to blame the government but if the Ikogosi community has any peculiar problem, they should approach the government and the government will respond appropriately.”

     

  • Ekiti Assembly holds valedictory service for governor

    Ekiti Assembly holds valedictory service for governor

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has hailed the House of Assembly for supporting him  in the development of the state.

    Fayemi, who was honoured yesterday at a valedictory service by the Assembly, said the over 70 laws passed in the last four years  supported his programmes and policies.

    The event was witnessed by principal officers and members of the Assembly.

    Fayemi, who attributed his achievement to the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which the Assembly upheld, said: “There is no other Assembly in the country that came anywhere close to the number of bills passed by the Ekiti Assembly in the last four years.

    “The vision of this administration was to eradicate poverty; my mission was to return the state to the path of glory, this has been largely achieved.

    “I want to assure you that I remain irrevocably committed to the democratic values our people have received in the last four years.”

    The Speaker, Dr Adewale Omirin, praised the governor for developing the state and leaving a legacy of honour, service and integrity.

    Omirin said Fayemi created a friendly relationship between the two arms of government, which culminated in the all-round rapid development of the state.

    He promised that the Assembly would ensure that the vision of the outgoing administration is transferred to successive administration.

    Speaking on behalf of the three senatorial districts, Gbenga Odebunmi (Central), Bunmi Oriniowo (North) and Yomi Daramola (South) said the governor emerged at a critical time in the state’s history and repositioned the once troubled state for excellence.

    Daramola said the impact made by the outgoing administration was indelible as there was no community which did not benefit from the various projects.

  • ‘It’s a privilege to serve my people’

    ‘It’s a privilege to serve my people’

    For the second year running, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has won ‘Governor of the Year’ award and he dedicates the honour to the people of his state whom he says it is a privilege to serve, MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE reports

    It was another day of honour recently at the cosy ambience of Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, as the cerebral Governor of Ekiti State Dr. Kayode Fayemi was garlanded as the winner of the Champions Newspaper’s Governor of the Year award.

    The event provided yet another opportunity for eminent Nigerians to celebrate the man reputed to have, in the last three and half years, thoroughly transformed Ekiti State.

    Fayemi wasn’t the only one that received awards at the colourful ceremony. Other winners at the event chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, include renowned industrialist and Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, (Champion’s 2013 Man of the Year), Mr. Peter Obi, (Outstanding Igbo Personality of the Year), Chief Sunny Dike Odogwu, (Lifetime Achievement), Chief Emeka Anyaoku, (Lifetime Achievement), Chief Ralph Uwechue, (Lifetime Achievement), Chairman of Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko, Dame Abimbola Fashola, (Heart of Gold), Lady Mercy Odochi Orji, (Heart of Gold), Dr. (Mrs.) Stella Okoli, (Heart of Gold), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, (Minister of the Year), Chief Leo Stan-Ekeh, (ICT Personality of the Year), and Engr. Earnest Nwapa, (Oil and Gas Personality of the Year).

    Globacom Limited, Zenith Bank and Mutual Benefit Assurance were equally honoured.

    But it was Fayemi’s award that threatened to bring the roof down on the occasion. Speaker after speaker unleashed a torrent of panegyrics on the activist governor.

    In his welcome address, Executive Chairman of Champion Newspapers, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanya-nwu, who was represented by Chief Bonnie Mnachukwu, described all the winners as men and women that had provided sacrificial leadership in the country.

    His words: “Our 2013 awardees are certainly deserving of their awards. These recognitions were not meant to massage anyone’s ego or to promote frivolity. Our newspaper conducted an independent investigation of the activities of the award winners. Our assessment of the awardees was without their knowledge and without their approval.

    “Our country is moving towards turning the corner and it has therefore become imperative to appreciate those who provide sacrificial leadership.

    “There is no doubt that there is a dearth of committed and selfless leaders in our society today, not only in politics but also in the economy, education, industry, academia and a host of others. As we consolidate our democracy, there is no other time than now to begin a process of identifying and celebrating those who have effectively utilised any and every opportunity to lead at one level or the other for the good of our people.

    “This is our modest way of contributing to the uplift of our society by providing a veritable platform to recognise selfless service among public office holders.”

    Also speaking, chairman of the event and Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal expressed satisfaction at the calibre of individuals and groups being honoured by the newspaper organisation.

    “It is true that despite the many problems we face as a nation, most of which can be blamed on the lack of the political will of most leaders, there have been people who have been able to raise the bar.

    Awards like this serve as recognition of the efforts of such people and help to set agenda on the kind of leadership we should have,” Tambuwal noted, even as he called on the media to help influence policy and set the agenda that can ensure society’s progress.

    “The media must be become more objective, more nationalistic and more democratic. The freedom of information bill, which the National Assembly passed into law, has improved and broadened the aspect of access to information. The media must take advantage of this and investigate properly in order to disseminate information that can make people to reach a rational conclusion on issues,” he stated.

    In his speech, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola released a downpour of accolades on Fayemi, describing the Ekiti State helmsman as his friend and brother.

    “He is a very selfless leader,” Fashola said of the awardee. “He is someone who has shown to us how strong he can be. Even though his intellectual disposition suggests that he prefers staying in the comfort of his office, but he is still committed beyond that, and when he is committed to a cause you can be sure he pursues it so judiciously. He held on to his mandate in spite of the obvious odds against him. He went from court to court in pursuit of justice and when that justice was served, he continued to use it for the benefit of his people and for the purpose he achieved it. I think it is such value and strength of character that has failed to elude the attention of the Champion Newspapers and resulted to his choice of the newspaper’s 2013 Governor of the Year. I believe this is to also encourage him to do more.”

    Fashola described his wife, Abimbola, who was also honoured at the event, as a pillar of strength and a woman with the heart of gold. “Since I met my wife, my life has been going in a positive direction,” he informed the guests.

    Another awardee and immediate past governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, said Fayemi’s performance so far had placed him at an advantage over other contestants in the forthcoming governorship polls  in Ekiti. He intoned: “For the others, they would say what they would do, but Governor Fayemi would be saying what he has done already. That is to show you how patriotic and effective he is. I want to congratulate him and other awardees.”

    A tumultuous cheer from the audience rent the air as Fayemi was summoned to receive his award. Resplendent in his blue agbada and a wine-red Awo cap, the governor, who beamed with smiles, stepped to the podium, accompanied by his wife, Erelu Bisi, Fashola, Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbe-sola, his deputy, Professor Modupe Adelabu and other dignitaries. The award was presented to him by Tambuwal.

    In his acceptance speech, Fayemi praised the organisers of the event for appreciating his efforts at uplifting his people. He also thanked his wife for being a pillar of support, just as he expressed gratitude to his children and family for coping with the stress of his busy schedules.

    “I dedicate the award to the good people of Ekiti State,” said the governor. “For me, it is a great privilege and honour to serve my people. It is rare for one to attain such heights in our country, so for those who are endowed with the privilege to serve our dear country, at this highest office, we owe them a duty to serve diligently, selflessly and with great compassion and other similar ways. That is what we have done in the last three and half years in office. The evidence of that transformation agenda is all over the state for all to see. I do agree with Mr. Peter Obi that I am running for the second term on the strength of my great performance. The things that I have done in about 132 communities in our state are very visible and are evidence of performance all over the state. So, for me, this award is an encouragement for us to continue to work harder. I want to thank the people of Ekiti State for giving this rare opportunity of leading our state back to the path of honour.

    “This is not my first award as Governor of the Year. I also won the Leadership Newspapers 2012 Governor of the Year Award. So, as I go into the gubernatorial race the second time, the people of Nigeria already recognised that we have served our people well and we are building on that legacy of sound service to our people. We will build on that foundation of development and continue to contribute our quota to make Ekiti State great.”

    Olayinka Oyebode, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said his principal indeed deserved the award owing to his palpable transformation of Ekiti State in all areas.

    “The governor always puts the people of the state first in all decisions he makes, and this is responsible for the rapid and massive development visible in the state presently. He ensures massive development in all areas, be it health, education, human capital development, agriculture and empowerment to mention just a few. He has put in place a lot of programmes that are impacting positively on the lives of the people. In 2012, he won the Leadership Newspaper’s Governor of the Year award. Even in South Africa, and now the Champion Newspapers 2013 Governor of the Year. Don’t forget that he was also awarded the Best Governor to develop ICT in his state. He has also won awards in South Africa and The Netherlands, among others. All these are recognitions of his great performance in office.”

    A group of Ekiti dancers enlivened the event. They praised Fayemi for taking care of the people, including the aged, who now receive monthly stipends from the state.

  • Governor Kayode Fayemi: Four more years (1)

    Governor Kayode Fayemi: Four more years (1)

    This coming election is another opportunity for us in Ekiti to once again demonstrate, and, confirm that Ekiti will never again be the play thing of these smart Alecs

    As the Kayode Fayemi Campaign rolls out next week to canvass the votes of his trusting and ever appreciative Ekiti people, it is the bounden duty of this column to play John the Baptist and foretell his second coming because, as our people never fail to say: JKF = 4+4 =8. This assignment is a ‘must do’ because long before our people ‘knew’ him, even when impunity ruled the roust and mandate thieves arrogantly seized his mandate for a season, playing god, this column had started, and never for once waivered, that here cometh the man who will make all the difference to our lives in Ekiti. And why was I so sure? Simple. It was his total person. Here is a young man, scion of a decent Christian parentage, intellectually sound and supremely confident, humble yet so self-effacing you are bound to miss his stern interior; a man of principles. It took me no time to know this is a decent gentleman you can trust and one who, unlike the other wannabe governors, will never deceive our people. And so for the first time since 1983, when I was deeply involved in Ondo State politics and indeed had to run to Lagos from that year’s raging inferno as was copiously reported on the front page of The Guardian of Tuesday 20, 1983, I saw myself irretrievably drawn, first to Dr Fayemi, and only later to Ekiti politics. Governor Kayode Fayemi, as our people have come to roundly acknowledge, is simply a miracle worker. Extremely easy to work with, he is a glutton for work; so untiring sitting by his table, all you can do is pray God for His continuing grace upon such a dedicated public servant.

    The Yoruba says, if you do not know where you are going, you must at least know where you are coming from. Ekiti is today, without a doubt, not where Governor Kayode Fayemi met it. Therefore, for some of us, who may have forgotten those parlous days of Ekiti being a state of ‘one day, one trouble’; days of murder and near assassinations, days of all manners of illegalities, we need remind them of those pre-Fayemi days, to let them know that only CONTINUITY can keep Ekiti in its present mode of multi-sectoral development, peace and concord, in the utmost hope that the caterwaulers will never be allowed to ever return us to those better forgotten days. Given these extant circumstances, Dr Fayemi, as governor, hadn’t a day’s honey moon. Rather, the long journey to damage control, reconstruction, renewal and modernising had to begin in earnest because it was a period when the preceding seven years had seen as many governors, one of which was for as long as one day; a state, as I mentioned earlier, of ‘one day one trouble’ and one that was nothing more than a client state of big PDP chieftains from as far afield as Ibadan and Lagos. Thus the doyen of amala politics, all the way from the old metropolis would come, pick and choose whichever contract meets his fancy while the militrician from Lagos ensured he got from Ekiti what funding the party in Lagos could no longer source from its own estranged member of the federal cabinet, in addition to the big man descending to the measly level of hiring helicopters, at hugely inflated prices, for respective Ekiti governors.

    This coming election is another opportunity for us in Ekiti to once again demonstrate, and, confirm that Ekiti will never again be the play thing of these smart Alecs. We must, and will vote CONTINUITY, whatever the schemes of these villains. This trilogy will explicitly explain the devilish plans of the PDP which include, not only a massive misuse of the military and the police, but named towns where INEC will deliberately under supply electoral materials and villages, specially around border towns, where PDP intends to use the voters cards which they will not only obtain officially, but also print as happened in Akwa Ibom and Abuja in 2011. They will meet a very prepared Ekiti because our people, trusting in God, have said: NEVER AGAIN.

    But the above was only the tip of the Augean stable Dr Fayemi met on his inauguration on 16 October, 2010. State infrastructure had collapsed, education, for which the state had always been celebrated from time immemorial had gone comatose, Ekiti youths were now no better than hordes of okada riders, social relations had so broken down that a blood relation top party member could invite his own relation to a nonexistent meeting only to get him killed in his bed room, and the whole place had become a killing field with life, in general, becoming short and brutish, analogous only to, please pardon the exaggeration, Europe after the thirty years war.

    The above was the unflattering Ekiti Dr Kayode Fayemi inherited at his inauguration. Countervailing all these, however, were a combination of an over pouring of love and support for him by the vast majority of our people, his own innate ability and willingness to bury himself in the herculean task of reconstruction, and the perspicacity to attract to himself , persons of ability, passion and commitment who would assist him in deconstructing this mountain of monstrosities.

    But first, the Augean stable had to be cleared. And one of the first individuals he called upon to join him in doing this, was Professor Bolaji Aluko, the then U.S-based Professor of Chemical Engineering, scion of the one and only Prof Sam Aluko of blessed memory, and now, Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Otueke, who had many years back come to the then Ekiti State University, to offer inestimable assistance to the university during the Vice Chancellorship of Professor Akin Oyebode.

    For the short time he functioned, Bolaji, hard-headed and deep, with a very sharp and penetrating mind, was, to the governor, the equivalent of the U.S White House Chief OF Staff; his highest ranking ‘staff’, to whom there were no off limits in the government. This was the man who painstakingly, went through the books, asking questions, ferreting out extant policies which had been mostly observed in breach, and through countless meetings with heads of departments, was able to avail the governor a kaleidoscopic view of the putrefying state of affairs which needed to be promptly attended if the new administration was not to be manacled by the ineptitude of past years.

    Conscious of the parlous state he inherited, he immediately promised a complete turnaround beginning with a comprehensive review of what had transpired in government in the past 42 months, not as a witch hunt of the past PDP governments, but with a view to strengthening the fabric of democratic governance and to correct the ills of the past. He equally pronounced the following policies about which he must be extremely happy to be judged today given his sterling performance on all: free education for primary and secondary schools pupils, a review of the then recently jacked up fees at the state-owned tertiary institutions; free health programme for children below age five, pregnant women, the physically challenged and the aged and including massive job creation, modernisation of agriculture, improvement of infrastructure, provision of adequate security, care for the elderly, tourism and industrial development, as well as promotion of gender equality and women empowerment.

     

    Next week governor fayemi hits the ground running.

  • The place of visionary leadership in economic development

    The place of visionary leadership in economic development

    The period between 2010, when governor Fayemi assumed office as state governor, and now, has witnessed an incomparable development in the industry in Ekiti

    “The vision is clear, the mission is here. It is to make poverty history in our land. While this is going to be a daunting task, it is not an insurmountable challenge …” – Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    Well, well, well. It’s election season again in my dear native Ekiti and my readers know only too well that I never shy away from reporting the evidences of my very eyes as far as governance in the state is concerned.

    I do this, ever so often, because even the most accomplished recorder of events will still find himself/herself falling short of adequately capturing the multi-pronged impact the government of Dr Kayode Fayemi has made on a state which, a few years back was, with considerable justification, referred to as the land of ‘one week, one trouble’. For the opposition, or even the ordinarily unconcerned, what I am doing here is either a hagiography, or at best, an over blow. But whoever knew Ekiti then – a mere three and half years ago – and now, as the popular Ajegunle crooner, Daddy Showkey, recently confessed in a publication, the difference will be very clear. The Collective Rescue Mission has, as promised at the very beginning, ‘taken Ekiti far beyond its most recent wounds’.

    However, even in spite of the near regularity of my writings on the state, and the belief that I had a kaleidoscopic view of the developmental efforts of the Fayemi administration, it still took the perspicacity of a young friend of mine, a Special Assistant to the Governor, to draw my attention to how integrity, vision and a single-minded commitment to the larger picture on the part of a leader, could lead to a quantum leap in private investments in a country or state. The case of Ekiti is simply astounding, as I will attempt to sketch in this write-up.

    Up until the 2009 re-run election when the distinguished Senator Iyiola Omisore barely shied away from getting involved in a public affray occasioned by his inability to secure accommodation at the government’s Fountain Hotel, which had itself actually been run down until it got concessioned to the E.11 group, it was a herculean task for any visitor to Ado-Ekiti to get a decent accommodation for the night outside of the Pathfinder Hotel which was the first of its kind in the state. The situation was in spite of the yeoman’s efforts of individuals who had braved investing in the hospitality industry in the state.

    However, the period between 2010, when governor Fayemi assumed office as state governor, and now, has witnessed an incomparable development in the industry in Ekiti. Today, tens of billions of naira have been poured into building eye-popping hotels that will be a pride to the ecosystem, whether in London or New York. Hotels like Midas, De Jewels, Delight and Prosperous Hotels and Suites (to be commissioned 8th March), and many more springing up, belong to very educated, well travelled entrepreneurs, who knew quite well that Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt would have fetched them higher returns on investment were they to have gone to those more affluent cities. But solely out of the implicit confidence they have in the Fayemi administration, they opted to partner with this visionary governor who, given another four years, would have transformed an otherwise, completely agrarian economy to a financial hub of sorts. These gentlemen, the far-sighted investors that they are, could, however, not but have been massively influenced in their investment choices, by the absolutely mind- blowing transformation Governor Fayemi has brought to bear on the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort which today ranks amongst the best tourist attractions in the country. From a run down, three-a-penny school- children -visiting resort, Ikogosi, of the legendary cool and warm water, has literally sprung to life: so much the world renowned poet, Professor Niyi Osundare –a proud Ekiti – one of whose poems graced the last London Olympics, could not demur from hosting a night of poems for an appreciative audience by the spring- side.

    These investors, knowing full well that the newly commissioned Resort, situated within the vicinity of the Warm Spring– where natural warm spring meets and flows side by side with cold spring and surrounded by natural beauty such as hills and lush grounds and complete with appropriate facilities, would soon be a home away from home, and a haven for both local and foreign, well heeled tourists, have quickly tapped into what is bound to be a highly financially rewarding tourist industry in the Nigerian hinterland. What place to benefit the most, if not the state capital, Ado-Ekiti? This is what visionary leadership can do for a state that ranks second lowest on the federation account list. This is nothing but ingenuity, and it is one reason Ekiti will, again, vote Fayemi for another four solid years to continue the good work he has been doing on their behalf.

    Investors in other areas of the economy are not lagging behind either. Mindful of the peaceful environment until some miscreants attempted to breach it, and conscious of the unprecedented presence in the state, of international development partners eagerly supporting the efforts of one of their own in whom they have implicit confidence, Ekiti State has also witnessed significant investment in other areas..

    The Odua Investment Company Ltd, almost for the first time, immediately jumped into the fray and in partnership with the Fayemi administration, brought from the dead, the old and forgotten textile industry, Ado-Ekiti, which was turned into a re-branded Ekiti Odua Enterprise Development Centre where hundreds of young Ekiti unemployed graduates are now learning new skills. The icing on the cake is that the young graduates are given take-off grants to start life as a budding employer of labour. Odua has since upped the ante by partnering with the state government in establishing the College of Technical and Commercial Agriculture in Ado-Ekiti.

    And talking about agriculture, a state that had nil agriculture-related enterprise at the commencement of the Fayemi administration can today boast of several which, put together, are valued in billions of naira with all the possibilities of employment, increased economic activity and additional IGR. These include the UNDP Ero/Itapaji Irrigation Scheme, a Cassava Processing Factory at Orin Ekiti, the Fount par Food Processing Company at Ikole Ekiti, Spectra’s Plantain Chips Company, Ikere Ekiti, the sprawling Tomato Farm at Iyamero- Ekiti owned by Datlex, the about-to-commence FMS Cassava Farm at Ako –Ekiti as well as Oke-Ako Ekiti Farms Ltd.

    The following organisations have also made their highly valued entry into the state’s economic sector:

    Metropolitan Motors Ltd, a Lagos-based indigenous private sector company which has established a modern Auto Mobile Service Centre as well as an Auto Mobile Training School and Genuine Spare Parts Mart, the Chinese Anli Plywood Company which established a Plywood/Doors/POP Industry at Iluomoba Ekiti already slated to be commissioned in March, 2014, the China Ocean Construction Company with its recently established Plywood/POP/Door Industry at Omuo – Ekiti and its Ceramic Tiles Industry at both Isan and Ijero -Ekiti which will soon take off. Also, Ceratec Ltd of Belgium has, in conjunction with ODUA Investment Ltd and the State Government, resuscitated the long moribund Ire Burnt Bricks Industry, now scheduled to be commissioned in April, 2014. A Croatian company is setting up an Aluminum Smelter company at Orin-Ekiti just as Shoprite (Ekiti Mall), by Topway Ltd, is about making an entry as it has done in Lagos and Ibadan but far ahead of its plans for other states in the Southwest.

    To many in, say, Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt, these may look minuscule, but when you realise that the Fayemi administration inherited an industrial ‘tabula rasa’, these represent a giant move towards completely turning the state around economically.

    Four more years will see Governor Kayode Fayemi do that and much more.

  • Soldiers deployed in Ado-Ekiti over drivers’ clash

    Soldiers deployed in Ado-Ekiti over drivers’ clash

    SOLDIERS were yesterday deployed in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital following the clash between factions of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).

    They were stationed at strategic locations including motorparks, apparently to forestall possible escalation of violence which broke out on Sunday between the factions.

    The drivers were fighting over the control of the union’s leadership.

    Dangerous weapons were freely used during the clash.

    The Union’s National Leadership was said to have set up a fact-finding committee which met yesterday with the aggrieved members. They (members) insisted that the Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Olanbiwonninu (aka Mentilo) must go.

    According to them, he has spent nine years. This is against the constitutionally approved eight years, they said.

    Policemen who were deployed to stop the violence couldn’t contain it. But nobody died.

    While it could not be ascertained who the union resolved to pick as the next chairman, the current excutive council might be relieved of their offices including, the chairman, it was learnt.

    Sources, however confirmed that the Fact-Finding Committe had been told that the only solution was for the current leadership to step down.

    He said: “We have told them that it is a no retreat no surrender case. Mentilo has to go and that a new set of leadership must be picked. He has been painting all members as enemies of Governor Kayode Fayemi which we have to prove wrong.

    “Our Union is not apolitical, we are for any government in power. We are essentially for the people and any government who has served the people is for us. Fayemi has done that. Why then must we be fighting him or working against his interest.

    “We have told the Committee this and that Mentilo is the only problem the state has. Once he is removed, our union will move forward. He has been causing divisions, using all manners of deceits”, the source said.

    All is now calm in the city.

  • Why we endorsed Fayemi, by legislator

    Why we endorsed Fayemi, by legislator

    A member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Segun Erinle, has applauded Governor Kayode Fayemi, saying that he was endorsed for a second term because of his performance.

    The Chairman of the House Committee on Legal and Judiciary said that the governor is sensitive to the yearnings of the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

    Erinle, who represents Ilejemeje Constituency, said that Fayemi has also redressed the injustice of the past, noting that those illegally sacked by the previous administration have been reinstated.

    He spoke recently in Lagos, when he was honoured by the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration in Nigeria as a fellow.

    Erinle said: “Some people that were sacked unjustly without reasons by the previous government have been returned to their jobs.

    “They petitioned the House and we looked into it. We believe those who were unjustly sacked should be reinstated. Those whose sack was in order, we told them they have no case”.

    Erinle stressed that the adherence to the rule of law is the hallmark of the administration.

    He added: “The Committee on Justice is to enhance the judicial process in the state. It is to bring in what we have learned overseas. An accused is presumed innocent, until he is found guilty by a competent law court.

    “So, an accused person has the right to legal aids. We are bringing the legal aids system to Ekiti State. You cannot just arrest somebody and put him behind bars, except he has been convicted by a competent court.”

    The legislator explained that the Fayemi Administration has performed exceptionally, stressing that the governor deserves a second term.

    He said that the governor had already been endorsed at the grassroots, urging the people to support the push for continuity.

    Erinle said the governor has transformed Ekiti State through the implementation of his eight-point.

    He stressed:“The way this man has transformed Ekiti State is exceptionally outstanding. And because you want Ekiti to develop, what we are talking about is that we should give him a second term in office. That is why I am an ardent supporter of his continuation in office.

    “We will support this man and stand by him. We will ensure that Ekiti State continues to grow because we know how we met it. He came on board to transform the state; so we shall support him and ensure he gets a second term.”

    Erinle said that Fayemi is popular because he has lived to expectation. He said: “Even, before the man said he wants to run for a second term, those at the grassroots have given him a clean bill. We have 16 local governments in Ekiti State. We have 16 party chairmen and their secretaries.

    “The party is different from the government and, if all the 16 local governments, with the people at the grassroots, say he should continue, why are we wasting our time to go for primaries?

    “It is a waste of time and resources. The constitution gives a party the right to choose its candidate. If all of them have endorsed him, why are we going for primaries again?

    Erinle also praised the leadership of the House, saying that the Speaker, Dr. Wale Omirin, has exhibited the qualities of a democratic leader.

    He said: “As I speak to you now, we have passed 68 bills into law. All the bills touch on the lives of the people.

    “They touch on how to move Ekiti forward. They touch on how the ordinary man in the street will triumph. So, these are the bills we have passed. And that is why I am saying we have done the best we can do.

    “The House will not relent in its efforts to ensure that the people of the state live under the rule of law as being projected by the APC administration in the state.”

  • Gunmen kill Ekiti Radio/TV chairman Ogunro

    Gunmen kill Ekiti Radio/TV chairman Ogunro

    •Son recounts murder of Eminent Communications boss in Lagos

    • Fayemi shocked

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi was in shock yesterday when he received news of the killing of the Chairman of the Board of the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES), Mr Sesan Ogunro.

    The late Ogunro, the Managing Director of a Lagos communications firm, Eminent Communications, was reportedly killed on Sunday night in Lagos in front of his church.

    He died at the Lagoon Hospital, Apapa, from the gunshot injuries he sustained in the attack in front of International Church of Christ, Jobi-Fele Way, Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja.

    In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, the governor said Ogunro’s killing had broken the hearts of Ekiti State residents, who he served diligently until his death.

    He described the late Ogunro as a thoroughbred Ekiti son and a professional who identified with his people.

    The governor urged security agencies to apprehend the killers and bring them to justice soonest.

    Dr Fayemi, who visited the family of the late Ogunro in Lagos yesterday, said those who killed the frontline advertising practitioner should not be allowed to get away with the crime.

    The governor promised that his administration would assist security agencies to bring his killers to book.

    He said: “We are appalled and shocked by this gruesome ‘murder’ of an Ekiti shining light, who was a role model to the young generation.

    “He (Ogunro) believed in hard work and rose to the pinnacle of advertising and marketing communications.

    “His sterling qualities inspired our administration to appoint him as the chairman of the state broadcasting service and he turned around the fortunes of the corporation within the short time he held office.

    “This is a monumental loss to the government and people of Ekiti State. We urge security agencies to do everything humanly possible to bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to justice.”

    The late Ogunro attended a Christmas carol at the church with his wife, children and grand children.

    It was learnt that the late Ogunro was attacked after he caught a thief in the church at 10pm.

    One of the late Ogunro’s sons, Timayo, recounted how his father was killed.

    He said: “It was a night of Christmas carol at the church. After the main carol service, people went down to eat. There was a man who tried to steal some money from someone and my father caught him. Other deacons and the minister of God started talking to the guy about what happened. That took some time.

    “So, as this continued, people started to leave the church premises. Eventually, it was just myself, my mum and my dad, some children and a few disciples of the church who remained behind.

    “My dad said I should take my mum and the children home, since it was getting late. We went outside and my mum remembered that she left some water in my dad’s car. So, my dad went to get the water from across the road. As I was about to open the door for everyone to get in, the gunmen came in a blue Sienna. I saw what happened but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

    “There were five of them. They spread out. Three of them came to me and hit me. I went down and gave them everything in my hand, including the car keys. I went down with my mum and the kids while two of the attackers walked up to my dad. He wanted to take the keys to his car but my dad told them: ‘Just take it; just take it.’ You know these guys: obviously, they were high and they just shot him.”

    A church member, Mr Sola Martins, said someone called him after leaving the church that he should call the police because there was shooting at the church premises.

    Martins said he received another call, as he was attempting to rush to the church premises, that Ogunro had been shot and that he should call the police.

    According to the church member, he reported the matter to the police and later joined the family at the Apapa hospital, where Ogunro died.

    Lagos State Police Command’s spokesperson Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP) said: “About 22:42 hours (10 pm) on December 22, a distress call was received by the Alausa Division of the police command. It was gathered that four armed men operating in a Honda Odyssey attempted to snatch a Mercedes Benz ML jeep belonging to Mr Ogunro.

    “The man resisted and threw away the key of the jeep, hence the armed men shot him. They abandoned the Honda Odyssey and escaped with a red Toyota Yaris car belonging to the wife, who was standing with him on the scene.

    “The scene was visited immediately by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and a team and the incident was confirmed. The DPO also visited the victim at the Lagoon Hospital where he was receiving treatment, though critical.”

    She said none of the relatives had made a statement on the incident.

    The police pokesperson explained that the Honda Odyssey was confirmed to have been snatched from somebody identified as Ali Balogun at Ebute-Metta at 8pm.

    The owner was reportedly dropped on Jobi-Fele Way in Alausa, Ikeja, from where she was taken to the station.

    Braide said the police had begun investigation into the incident and the search for the fleeing hoodlums.

  • Fayemi condemns Maiduguri attack

    Fayemi condemns Maiduguri attack

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has condemned Monday’s attack on some military formations in Maiduguri, Borno State.

    Twenty four people were killed in the attack reportedly carried out by Boko Haram insurgents.

    In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, Fayemi described the attacks as barbaric.

    He said the spate of attacks by outlawed and insurgent groups must be ended.

    The governor urged the Federal Government to review the nation’s security situation and work out a strategic plan to cut the link supplying ‘oxygen’ to the groups.

    Fayemi suggested better collaboration among relevant security agencies, especially in the area of intelligence sharing.

    He canvassed the strengthening of the Political Intelligence Unit in the Office of the National Security Adviser.

    “This is the time to review our approach to this insurgence. A proactive measure should be taken, while intelligence gathering and intelligence sharing among security agencies should be improved.”

    The Maiduguri attacks should send a dangerous signal to all. And it should be a wake up call for security agencies. And this should, in turn, provoke more coordinated efforts at tackling this dangerous trend.”

     

  • Fayemi grants N600 million loan to cooperatives

    Fayemi grants N600 million loan to cooperatives

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi on Saturday gave a sum of N600 million as revolving loan to Cooperative Societies in the state.

    Speaking at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado-Ekiti at the maiden ceremony of the Ekiti Cooperatives Day, Fayemi said the move was based on needs to empower the populace which he said cooperatives had been doing even without official support of government.

    According to the Governor, there were no fears about the repayment of the loans as cooperative societies are well known of having full-proof system of loan repayment, noting that cooperatives remains the most assuring means of fighting poverty among the rural peasants.

    Fayemi clarified that the State Government would contribute a sum of N300 million while the Bank of Agriculture would

    donate equall amount to empower members of the over 10,000 cooperatives across the state at friendly rates.

    He assured of the support of his administration in upgrading of the Cooperative Multipurpose Societies Unions (CPMUs) to Micro-Finance Institutions to enhance performances in making funds available to individuals on use and return basis.

    Said he: “The concept of coopertives all over the world affords opportunities to reach the unreachable.

    The laudable role dates back to the western region when Cocoa Farmers’ Cooperatives offered a platform for the growth of commerce in that region.

    “If cooeratives are revived in Ekiti, the old roles played by them in old western region could be re-enacted here in the state. By available data, cooperatives in Ekiti State is the second employers of labour and providers of economic activities in the State.

    We are confident and keen to do this because cooeratives rank no one in repayment of loans. We are ready to partner the cooperative federation to establish cottage inductries which would develop into micro inductry.

     

    “And in terms of loan repayment, they are the best. We quite appreciate their efforts in ensuring that we have a stable economy in the State”, Fayemi said.

     

    Earlier, the Commissioner for Rural Development, Chief Folorunso Olabode and the Chairman, Ekiti State Cooperatives Advisory Board, Chief Clement Ayoola, had commended the move, saying it was meant to draw awareness of the people towards the contribution of Cooperatives to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

     

    Olabode stated that “Cooperatives are institutions that can evolve into a sustainable business enterprise to enhance the economy of Ekiti Stare if well harnessed”.

     

    He said further: “Today’s activity is therefore aimed at raising public awareness on how cooperatives can contribute to poverty reduction, employment

    generation and social integration. It is also aimed at encouraging

    individuals, communities and government to acknowledge the roles of

    cooperative in helping to achieve MDGs.”.

     

    Meanwhile, represented at the event were cooperative societies from across the towns in the state including Ado, Ise, Aramoko, Iyin, Ijero, Efon, Ilawe, and other towns in the state.