Ekiti finances: Fayemi challenges Fayose to open debate

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has challenged Governor Ayodele Fayose to a public debate on how the two of them ran Ekiti finances.

Fayemi said the 800-page handover notes he personally gave to Fayose when he assumed office contained how the finances he received while in office were managed.

The immediate past Minister of Mines and Steel Development spoke at a press briefing on Sunday after the inauguration of the state campaign council.

“I challenge Fayose to meet me in a debate and let us discuss what we did with the resources that we held in trust for Ekiti, that way we will know who is a better manager of Ekiti resources or who is a prodigal son,” he said.

Fayemi stated this while responding to an allegation by the Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party’s Chairman, Gboyega Oguntuase, that he mismanaged N165bn allocation apart from other grants as governor between 2010 and 2014.

Oguntuase had in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday wondered why Fayemi still took N25bn bond and N35bn commercial loans with nothing to show for the funds.

“In 2011, Fayemi got N40.5bn as monthly statutory allocations. In 2012, he got N39.8bn. In 2013, he got N44.3bn and in 2014, he got N40.1bn. Whereas, the Fayose administration got N28.2bn in 2015, N18.8bn in 2016 and N25.6bn in 2017.

“Apart from the above monthly allocations, Fayemi still got regular funds from the Excess Crude Oil Account, IGR among others. Despite what Fayemi got, he still borrowed N25bn from the Capital Market and took N31bn commercial loans. The question is, what did he do with the money? Nothing.