Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi

By Davidson Iriekpen

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has disclosed that the volume of prevalent peace achievable in a state is largely dependent on the disposition of the governor of that state towards the entrenchment of peace and tranquillity.

Fielding questions from journalists on how he has been able to sustain peace in Ekiti, Fayemi reasoned that if a state governor has a strong sense of resistance to violence and wanton killings, the state will automatically be peaceful while residents sleep with both eyes closed.

He added that the degree of peace currently being witnessed in Ekiti State is the fallout of his government and party’s spirited resistance to harassment, intimidation and killing.

The governor said gone were the days when some of his predecessors in the state would harass the opposition and chase them out of the state or even go ahead to assassinate them.

He pledged that throughout his tenure, nobody would be harassed or killed as he warned those who play politics with people’s lives to have a rethink, threatening that every incident will be thoroughly investigated and the culprit brought to book.

Reacting to the controversy generated by the compulsory test his government directed teachers in the state public schools to write, Fayemi claimed that the test for teachers in the state was not a ploy to sack anybody but rather meant to enhance the quality and knowledge-base of the teachers.

He also explained that the decision was not meant to victimise any teacher. Rather, he said it was part of measures meant to address the dwindling quality of teaching personnel in the state.

According to Fayemi, “I organised an education summit when we came on board. The summit, which was chaired by late Professor Sam Aluko came out with recommendations.

The quality of our teachers was part of it. Teachers are not in their best shape. Generally speaking, if we provide all the enabling facilities we have promised and we don’t have quality teachers, then there is problem. A school in Ado Ekiti that used to score 90 per cent before in West African Examinations Council (WAEC) now scored nine per cent in 2012.

“There is no way anybody can convince me to play politics with the lives of our children. I don’t have anything against the teachers. That’s why I’m not going to bow down on the test issue. Employees have a pact with their employers.
Ekiti is not the only state that will introduce test It was done in Kwara and Bayelsa. It is not about retrenchment.”