– Omotunde Fajuyi explained that Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state brought shame upon the people of Ekiti state
– The executive director of Be the Change Organisation (BCO) said she supports the people calling for the governor’s resignation
Punch gathered from the All Progressives Congress (APC) member the reasons she is at the opposite end of the rope with Governor Ayodele Fayose’s style of governing Ekiti, saying the governor has brought shame to the ‘Fountain of Knowledge.’
Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state
Fajuyi started by revealing why she supports the need for Fayose’s resignation. She said:
“There is no transparency in his government. First of all, I am an accountant. There is poor performance in budget implementation in Ekiti State. Nobody knows the state of the internally generated revenue. To compound the situation, the governor got N9.6bn bailout from the Federal Government and no one knows how he spent the money. The money was diverted to other areas other than what it was meant for.
“Workers that were supposed to get succour from the money released were alienated. When they asked, they could not get a satisfactory response from the governor. The governor claims he gets an average of N250m monthly from the internally generated revenue. For one year that is N3bn. For another six months that is N1.5bn. When you put that together, that is N4.5bn. That is enough to offset part of the salary arrears of the workers if he was honest enough. Money has been coming regularly and there is nothing to show for it.
“He has also made so much noise about the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s freezing of his account. He claimed the monies found in his two accounts were from sponsors of his election and not part of the missing arms deal money from the Office of the former National Security Adviser, Lt.Col Sambo Dasuki (retd). How does he explain that monies were paid into his account in 2015 at different instances? Are they parts of the money used to finance his election in 2014? The governor also does not show respect to anyone. It could be very annoying when people ask you questions bordering on their general wellbeing and you are putting up a bold face. People need to know what is happening to the state’s finances.”
Fajuyi spoke on the governor’s claim that she is attacking him because she belongs to the APC, which made her war of words to be politically motivated. She said:
“This is not about partisan politics. I am a representative of the Be the Change Organisation which is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. I obtained due clearance from the National Coordinator before staging the rally, so it cannot be termed partisan. He should say other things. If he says that, what about the members of the state House of Assembly that went to the street demonstrating? Are they not members of the Peoples Democratic Party? Ekiti people were embarrassed by the latest revelation of Fayose’s link with N4.7bn arms cash. All Nigerians must support any move to recover the people’s commonwealth from looters. Ekiti people are people of honour and integrity. Fayose’s conduct in power has brought shame and odium on all Ekitis both at home and abroad.”
Omotunde Fajuyi
The executive director also spoke on the governor’s scorecard so far since his second coming.
“The second coming has not been a blessing to the state. Since he came into the saddle, we have not had any meaningful development. There is corruption everywhere. There is no child friendly initiative. The children are now made to pay through their parents for education that should have been free. All these are because of somebody’s ego. People are paying various kinds of taxes without anything to show for them. He is holding the office in trust for the people hence he should be ready to be accountable. The whole situation is shameful.”
She explained what she knew about the reaction to the allegation that Governor Fayose owes workers due to the mountain of debts he inherited from former governor Kayode Fayose’s administration.
“That is balderdash. Tell that to the marines. The Debt Management Office has confirmed that former Governor Kayode Fayemi was owing N18bn which would not be taken off in one month. The governor (Fayose) is not sincere. If N1.5bn comes into the state with N250m from IGR, and don’t forget the local government allocation comes in directly; how are these monies managed that the government can’t still pay workers? The government lacks sincerity. Besides, the reduction in the federal allocation is as a result of drop in the price of oil and years of mismanagement of the nation’s resources by the PDP’s government especially under former president Goodluck Jonathan.”
Fajuyi spoke on how the APC is providing the necessary opposition in Ekiti state
“Yes, we are. The party only points out what the government is not doing rightly and is not interested in bringing a government down. We raise genuine matters of public interest. When you are not getting things right from the perspective of the public, we try to tell you.”
She bared her mind on the anti-corruption battle of President Muhammadu Buhari?
“BCO is about working together with the president. It is working towards the cumulative effect of honesty and the integrity stance of the president. We are supporting the anti-corruption stance of the president. We are with him 100 per cent to ensure corruption is a thing of the past. We are against looting of our money, corruption in government and scandals rocking this government in Ekiti. Workers are dying at home; we want Fayose to explain what he has done with allocations he had so far collected because he has received more than N50bn as allocation since he came to power. Fayose claims to be a Christian, he must come out clean and give account to the people of Ekiti State and he must submit himself and all his aides and associates to anti-corruption agencies for investigation.”
The executive director of BCO revealed what she wants Ekiti people to demand from Fayose
“The Ekiti people should rise up and ask questions. We should stop being passive about things affecting us. We should question those leading us when necessary. I also advise them not to sell their future for a bowl of rice.”
She likewise spoke on Ekiti state House of Assembly members who she says are figureheads
“No! They are not playing their role of check and balancing well. They are now demonstrating on behalf of the governor. That is shameful! They are supposed to be a check on the government and not a rubber stamp.”
She concluded by dismissing the allegation by Fayose that he is being hunted down by the presidency
“The governor was voted into office to govern all the people in the state irrespective of their political interest. That is his primary responsibility. He shouldn’t see himself as being for the PDP only. He should face governance and avoid distractions.”
About five days ago, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reportedly arrested the close aide of the Governor Ayo Fayose of the Ekiti state
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