Your Govt Was Reckless, PDP Tells Fayemi

•   I was a better manager of resources, ex-governor replies

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Mr. Gboyega Oguntuase,  has asked the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to explain how he spent statutory allocations and other funds that accrued to his government between 2010 and 2014.

Oguntuase said documents from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the National Bureau of Statistics among others showed that Fayemi collected a total of  N165 billion as  allocations, excluding regular funds from Excess Crude Oil Account, grants, internally-generated revenues (IGR) among others, but Fayemi still took N25 billion bond and N35 billion commercial loans with nothing to show for the funds.

Responding, Fayemi challenged Governor Ayodele Fayose to a public debate in the market square on who is the best manager of resources  between his government and that of the PDP-led administration.

He  advised  the PDP  to take time and peruse the 800-page hand over note he handed over to him to be able to decipher how he spent Ekiti State money during his administration.

Fayemi denied the allegation that his government was profligate, saying he did projects in all the 133 towns in the state, “unlike the present government that had abandoned the populace.”

In a statement by Oguntuase  in Ado-Ekiti on yesterday he also said the Fayose’s administration had done creditably well, despite the lean resources at its disposal.

“In 2011, Fayemi got N40.5 billion as monthly statutory allocations.

In 2012, he got N39.8 billion. In 2013, he got N44.3 billion and in

2014, he got N40.1 billion. Whereas, the Fayose administration got N28.2 billion in 2015, N18.8 billion in 2016 and N25.6 billion in

2017. Apart from the above monthly allocations, Fayemi still got regular funds from the Excess Crude Oil Account, IGR among others. Despite what Fayemi got, he still borrowed N25 billion from the Capital Market and took N31 billion commercial loans. The question is, what did he do with the money? Nothing! The N25 billion bond and commercial loans, through which he mortgaged the finances of our dear state for 20 years, were spent on nothing.”

“He proposed an event centre, it was never completed. He said he would build a new governor’s office, he only scraped a parcel of land near the House of Assembly complex and did nothing. His new Ojaba market, for which he erected a billboard at the entrance of the palace of Ewi, never saw the light of the day,” he added.

But Fayemi added further that “there is no town you get to that you won’t see at least  four projects that my government executed in the state.”

“I did renovation of all schools, I employed people into Ekiti State Traffic Management, Youth in Commercial  , Volunteer Corps , five kilometres road project, urban renewal, building of palaces, civic centres and town halls in virtually all the towns.”

“So, if the PDP leader is not blind and  he is not illiterate,  he should try and quantify all these projects and from there he would know  how I spent Ekiti state money,” he added.