APC Accuses Fayose of Paying Self N720m Arrears

Governor brands allegation as balderdash

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of paying himself N720million being the arrears of his unfinished first term in office as the governor, describing the conduct as satanic in the face of the hardship being witnessed by workers .

Fayose, who was the governor between May 29, 2003 and October 16, 2006, was impeached six months to the expiration of his first term.

A statement by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, yesterday, described as shameful and heartless the governor’s refusal to pay statutory pensions benefit to Ekiti elders which is not more than N5,000 for many of them, who meritoriously served the state.

The party also castigated Fayose for cancelling former Governor Kayode Fayemi’s social security scheme that paid N5,000 monthly to 20,000 elderly Ekiti people, alleging that many of the pensioners who have no children to take care of them have started dying.

But a statement by Fayose’s Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, refuted the allegation, saying “From all indications, the APC has promoted falsehood to the level of a trade, and we pity the party and its lying leaders. Governor Fayose left office on October 16, 2006, eight months to the end of his tenure and Ekiti State had three governors within that period.

“Does it then make any sense that the same Fayose would come back eight years after to approve payment already made to three governors after him for himself?

“Let’s even assume that the eight months salary is to be paid, is the monthly salary of a governor more than N1million? How then does say N1million per month equaled N720million in eight months?

“Again, severance allowance is 300 per cent of annual basic salary and the basic salary of a governor is not more than N2million. So can N2million in three places be equal to N720million?”

Venting its anger further, the APC also accused the governor of refusal to pay traditional rulers five months salaries, while also refusing to pay gratuity to a single retired worker since he assumed office, wondering who exactly the governor’s friends are with his anti-people policies.”

Olatunbosun alleged further that Fayose had last week electronically paid N13million into the accounts of each of the 16 local governments and collected the cash back from the council chairmen for purported joint projects like he did in his fraudulent poultry project in 2004.