The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has again urged Governor Ayodele Fayose to pay workers’ entitlements from the bailout cash he received for that purpose two weeks ago from the Federal Government.
In a statement by the Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party accused Fayose of refusing to explain to Ekiti State people what he had done with the special funds provided by the Federal Government to the state for the payment backlog of workers’ entitlements, pensions, salaries and severance allowances to former political office holders.
Noting that the governor had failed to take along workers on whose behalf he obtained the money for the settlement of their entitlements, Olatunbosun also accused Fayose of refusing to pay last year September salary and leave bonus to workers.
He said: “He has also refused to pay September, half October Salary, severance and furniture allowances to former political office holders who were captured in the bailout fund protocol even though he announced few days ago on a live television programme that he would pay past political office holders, but he has not done so while the salaries paid into the primary school teachers’ accounts were reversed 30 minutes after they received alerts.”
He also accused the governor of marginalising the neighbouring towns surrounding Afao-Ekiti, his home town, in the distribution of infrastructure and social amenities, citing restoration of electricity to Afao, while leaving out Igbemo, Iluomoba and Ijan, even as he also dualised the network of roads within Afao complete with streetlights while the roads in neighbouring bigger towns are in the state of disrepair.
Olatubosun said: “Light distribution around Aisegba, Iluomoba, Ijan, Igbemo, Afao, Are and Iworoko used to come from the distribution line from Ijan to service Igbemo, Afao, Are and Iworoko.
“But to our shock, almost a year after these communities were in darkness the governor assured his kinsmen in Afao that they would have electricity within 24 hours. Within the same period as promised, he ensured that the distribution line was changed from Gbonyin distribution to Afao through Ado-Iworoko-Are line, thereby cutting off the normal Gbonyin distribution line that used to distribute light to all these communities.
“It would have been practically impossible for Iworoko and Are-Ekiti to have light if not that the governor ensured that power providers were mandated to take light from Ado distribution line that passes through Iworoko and Are to enable Afao get light while Igbemo, Ijan and other Gbonyin towns remain in darkness as we speak.”
Urging Fayose to stop nepotism in the conduct of government affairs, the APC spokesman said while Afao township roads were also given new looks and streetlights, roads in bigger towns with better economic prospects such as Ikere and Ijero were in shameful conditions.
Olatunbosun also warned the governor against alleged plan to divert the bailout cash to personal use, saying Ekiti State workers would not take any excuse for any further delay in the payment of their entitlements after the truth on the actual debt profile of the state had been made known during the ministerial screening when former Governor Kayode Fayemi told the stunned Nigerians that Ekiti State debt was N18 billion against N86 billion that the governor had been bandying around.
He said: “We have it on good authority that the governor is planning to divert the bailout specially provided by the Federal Government to personal use and we warn the governor that the era of impunity and bare-face fraud is over.
“We call on the CBN, ICPC and EFCC to help appeal to the governor to pay up workers, pensioners and former political appointees their entitlements according to the mandate of the bail out arrangement by the Federal Government and these agencies should monitor the disbursement of the bailout cash to ensure it is spent as approved by the Federal Government.”
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