The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has berated Governor Ayodele Fayose for imposing a ban on workers and government’s agencies from transacting business with Ecobank and Zenith Bank over private affairs that have no bearing with state matters.
The APC described Faye’s action as a threat to the state’s economy and disservice to the state’s indigenes who stand the risk of losing their jobs in the banks.
Fayose had last week instructed all government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including workers, to move their accounts from Zenith Bank in response to the freezing of his accounts with the bank by the EFCC over alleged arms purchase cash traced to his accounts.
He gave them few days within which to comply with his order as communicated by the state Accountant-General to all the MDAs, including workers.
Reacting, the APC spokesman, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said in a statement that Fayose’s action is a wrong signal to the investing community and threat to the state’s economy as well as a recipe for job losses among workers in the bank, majority of whom are Ekiti State indigenes.
Criticising the governor for the latest move after taking similar action that forced Ecobank out of business in the state with Ekiti State indigenes in the bank losing their jobs, Olatunbosun berated Fayose for tying his personal fate to the fate of 2.5 million people of the state and her economy.
His words: “Governor Fayose has personalised Ekiti State to the extent that whoever offends him offends the state and her people, which is dangerous to the economic survival of both the state and her people.
“Last time, he ordered all government’s agencies and workers to move their accounts from Ecobank simply because the bank refused to surrender the cash for its Community Social Responsibility projects to the governor when the bank insisted that it would carry out the projects like is the practice in other states of the federation.
“For this reason, the governor took offence, destroyed the culvert at the entrance of the bank and ordered government offices and workers to move their accounts from the bank, thereby forcing the bank’s closure in the state with Ekiti indigenes working in the bank losing their jobs.
“This time, because Zenith Bank washed its hands off election sponsorship fraud through which Fayose assumed power, he is fighting back by severing relationship with the bank by ordering all government offices and workers to move their accounts from the bank.
“As expected, Zenith Bank will close shop with attendant job losses among Ekiti indigenes working there, including sending wrong signals to the investing community that Ekiti is under a siege of a reckless and maximum governor that promotes anti-investment policies.
“During his first term between 2003 and 2006, all international development agencies operating in Ekiti State, including the World Bank and British DFID, relocated from Ekiti when the agencies could no longer cope with the opaque manner Fayose was conducting government’s business in relation to the agencies’ partnership with his administration.”
Olatunbosun regretted that while Fayose got himself involved in “lawless and reckless conduct with maximum personal benefits”, the rest of Ekiti State people were the ones that would suffer from the governor’s indiscretion.
He said: “While Fayose enjoys the brute force through which he recklessly conducts government’s business to have his way that will cost the state and her people fortunes, including job losses, the governor does not care a hoot for the hopeless condition he is creating for the people after collecting his monthly N250m security vote and and alleged kick backs from contractors handling some of his cloudy projects.
“Since he assumed office on October 16, 2014, many businesses have closed shops or relocated from Ekiti State because of his anti-business policies, including obnoxious tax regime that forces medium and small-scale businesses to pay heavy taxes that do not reflect in the state’s financial profile while investors have stopped doing business in the state because of his anti-investment policies and lawless acts.
“This governor is a threat to Ekiti collective survival and nightmare for the struggling Ekiti people, particularly workers, who toil daily to make ends meet but for whom the governor is creating conditions that will compound their woes.”