The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of undue harassment of teachers perceived not friendly with his government.
It said as the governor of the state, victimising a section of the populace on the basis of partisan sentiment is not a mark of dispassionate leadership.
Reacting to reports of selective transfers of some teachers from towns to the remote communities across the state, the APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said such attitude by Fayose was unstatesmanly and an abuse of power over the people the governor was supposed to exercise an authority of unbiased leadership.
Olatubosun said: “We are worried that shortly after he was sworn in, the governor started marking down all the teachers he perceived as not supporting him for punishment. What we have now is taking authority to transfer teachers from the Teaching Service Commission and place it in the hands of his Special Assistant on Internal Security, who goes around schools in the state pointing to those to be transferred to rural areas and telling them the reasons for that punishment.”
The APC spokesman also accused the governor of alleged plans to downsize the state work force after election promises to enhance workers’ welfare and provide jobs for the jobless youths.
He said it is callous to plan retrenchment of workers after refusing to pay their two months salaries.
His words: “We now know the reason why the governor called workers to a meeting at Ekitiparapo Square where he told them that it would be difficult to pay their salaries starting from March.
“The question is, what is the governor doing with the allocations and savings made through cuts in running grants, sacking of permanent secretaries and abolition of social security scheme for the elderly, traffic management agency and Peace Corps running into millions of naira, particularly as he runs a lean government of four-member cabinet?
“Ekiti workers have now seen through the tricks of the man who calls himself the friend of workers. We warned the workers against supporting a man that would take them to the black market. He gave a tip of the humiliation that awaited workers when he gave them three-month-old chickens for Christmas while refusing to pay their salaries and salary arrears after collecting the state allocation for the month and allocation arrears.
“As seen in the Ekiti election rigging tape, the world now knows how the governor got his purported victory after which he rallied workers to defend a fraudulent and illegitimate victory. He is now punishing the same workers with unpaid salaries, punitive transfers and plans to retrench.
“After the rigging tape emerged, we now know where Ekiti money goes, as Ogun and Anambra election sponsors lay siege to Ekiti Government House for the refund of the money they spent on Ekiti governorship election while Ekiti people suffer.
“We also now know the reason for the frequent Dubai trips where the governor is allegedly building a five-star hotel. But we want to assure Ekiti workers that by the time the law takes its full course on Ekiti election, APC government will address their plights.”
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