Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State

By Toba Suleiman

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, at the weekend, declared that the state was not responsible for the finance of the frequent trips he embarked upon in the last two years of his administration in the state.

Fielding questions from journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Fayemi maintained that it was important to make the declaration in response to allegation by some members of the opposition party in the state, who have criticised him for allegedly wasting state’s funds on frequent foreign trips.

Fayemi, who pointed out that since his assumption of office in 2010, he had been paying from his pockets to sponsor such trips, said such trips were meant to attract foreign investors to the state with a view to developing it.

It would be recalled that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had recently criticised the governor for embarking on “too many foreign trips” and not handing over the baton of governance to his deputy each time he embarked on such trips.

Reflecting on the recent award of the “Best Governor of the Year” from the ‘Leadership Newspaper’ in Abuja, Fayemi said achievements recorded so far by his administration were in line with the promises he made during his electioneering campaign.

He said: “There is nothing we are doing now that is different from what we promised the electorate in the state before we came to power.”

The governor added that the masses were the products of good planning, political will and the grace of God giving the limited resources available to this state.

On the crisis between the government and the striking council workers over the non-payment of state’s approved N19,300 minimum wage, the governor stated that he had no problem with either the leadership of the NULGE or its members adding that he was only to ensure that the limited resources available to the state is prudently utilised.

Vowing to make public the names of those allegedly behind the fleecing of council money, Fayemi disclosed that he had the names of such people who were on the payroll of some councils without doing anything.

He said rather than using state’s money to line the pockets of such desperate politicians, he would ensure that the limited resource is spent to improve the living standard of the people.

Fayemi also blamed successive administrations for not having the political will to tackle the problem at the council level.