I Didn’t Pay Myself N720m Allowance – Gov. Ayodele Fayose

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State yesterday dismissed allegations that he paid himself N720 million as allowances for his first tenure, saying “it is only a heartless leader that will do such.” The Ekiti State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC had accused the governor of paying the said sum.

Fayose also appealed to pensioners and civil servants in the state to be patient with his government, noting that he had been battling with inherited debts, the repayment of which is being made from the source.The governor, however, saluted the people of the state on the first anniversary of his election and declaration as the governor-elect of the state following the June 21, 2014 governorship election.

Debunking allegations that he paid himself over N720 million as allowances for his first tenure, he said, “it is only a heartless leader that will do such at a period the state is facing financial challenges.”

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi said the governor, in a broadcast, noted that “the resolve of the people to massively vote for their choice and subsequently defend the mandate given to him in the face of stiff opposition reaffirmed that power resides with the people.”

While he reiterated his commitment and dedication to the course of the people, the governor said his victory will spur the government to deliver on campaign promises even in the face of dwindling economy.

On poor supply of electricity, he noted that despite the fact that electricity was no longer directly under the government, he had been discussing with the Benin Distribution Company(BEDC) and assurance had been given that the moment some repair works being done were concluded, electricity will improve in the state.

Fayemi diverted 4.1bn workers’ deductions to APC — Ekiti PDP

Meantime, the Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has alleged that the recent workers’ verification exercise in the state has revealed how the administration of former Governor Kayode Fayemi diverted over N4 billion entitlements of workers to the All Progressives Congress (APC) through various means.

But in a swift reaction, the APC, through its spokesperson, Mr Taiwo Olatunbosun said the party would not join issues with the PDP. The PDP said ghost workers detected during the exercise were among the methods used to perpetrate the fraud.

In a statement by the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Jackson Adebayo, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the party alleged that some of the some of the civil servants collaborated with the APC in the shady deal, and who claimed that they were short-changed, had exposed the deal.

Adebayo said that the money involved in the fraud amounting to N2.1bn was withdrawn from the salary accounts of civil servants and moved to the APC secretariat for sharing from time to time in the four years that the APC government led by Fayemi lasted in Ekiti State.

The PDP spokesman also noted that the missing deductions from workers’ salaries for the months of April, May, June July and August, 2014 running to about N1.8 billion was also traced to the APC secretariat, as information had it that it was packaged for the running of the party after Fayemi lost his re-election bid in June 2014.