The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has challenged Governor Ayodele Fayose to explain to Ekiti people how he got N650m to purchase a land allegedly transferred to the retired Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh, who is facing a criminal trial over alleged fraud in property acquisition in Abuja.The party said Fayose’s response becomes imperative, following the refusal of the governor to declare his assets public, including allegations of fraud raised against him that he has not denied.
A witness in the trial of Badeh on Monday in a Federal High Court, Abuja, testified that Fayose was the owner of a N650m land that variously changed hands, landing finally in the laps of the former Chief of Defence Staff, who is facing criminal trial over alleged fraud in Defence vote.
Reacting in a statement in Ado-EkitI, Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said Ekiti people would want to know the details of the governor’s properties and how he acquired them in the face of several allegations of illegal fund transfers, including the $35 million he allegedly got from the Office of the National Security Adviser to prosecute his election in what is now known as Ekitigate.
“Fayose has refused to tell Ekiti people the details of his assets after he was sworn in and of course we have been vindicated in our claim that the governor was involved in the arms purchase fraud through which billions of naira were ferried to Ekiti to rig his election.
“This is also a confirmation of alleged keeping of billions of naira in alleged specially-designed save made in South Africa where proceeds of frauds are kept in Afao-Ekiti.
“In his first term, anti-crime agencies discovered that the governor made anticipatory declaration of assets, including his Iyaganku mansion in Ibadan.
“The site of that property was a thick forest when Fayose became a governor as discovered by the EFCC and DSS in their reports on the governor’s assets declaration form,” Olatunbosun explained.
He added that the governor was among the Nigerian political office holders listed to own propertIes in Dubai, which he never declared, stressing that this confirmed the party’s position that the governor was in a mission to milk the state while the people suffer.
“Fayose has neither rendered account of Ekiti finances to the people nor declared his assets publicly like his predecessor in office. This is why Fayose is opposed to the Single Treasury Account.
“This is why many secret accounts allegedly owned by him are believed to be conduit pipes through which state funds are used for his personal use, particularly several taxes collected from Ekiti people that cannot be traced to any account owned by Ekiti State Government,” he said.
Olatunbosun also accused the governor of “callousness and insincerIty” in the treatment of Ekiti people, particularly workers, who he owed five months salaries while deceiving them that he still paid same salaries (N2.6b) as former Governor Kayode Fayemi after sacking over 27,000 Ekiti people that Fayemi paid one form of salary and allowance or the other when he was governor.
“He denied ever collecting N2b Ecological Fund cash and refunds on Federal roads executed by Fayemi, which he actually collected, while also deceiving Ekiti people on fake monthly allocations to the state.
“He collected N9.6b bail-out at the time he was owing a month salary and after paying one month salary, what he did with the balance, he refused to tell Ekiti workers and in fact abused them when they sought explanation.
“While he denies workers their entitlements, his children have been helping themselves through Afao special save to cruise around in the world’s capitals in exotic cars while he also goes about in markets buying ‘ponmo’, tomatoes and drinking ‘ogogoro’ in local joints to deceive the people and create an impression that he is the friend of the masses,” he added.
While praising Ekiti Labour leaders for seeing the light in the alleged fraud the governor was visiting on them by claiming that he pays same salary (N2.6b) as Fayemi, Olatunbosun urged the EFCC to beam its searchlight on Fayose’s activities and investigate the state’s finances, as the governor had allegedly received funds on behalf of the state that could not be traced to any account.
