The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Monday, accused the administration of Governor Ayo Fayose of inflicting untold hardship on the people since October 2014.
Fayemi, who made the claim in an interview in Ado-Ekiti, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led state administration has inflicted hardship on workers, students, parents, business owners and traditional rulers.
He noted that apart from owing workers’ salaries of five to nine months, the state government had also failed to pay the allowances of traditional rulers.
The APC candidate also slammed the governor for failing to disclose the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state since coming to power in 2014.
“IGR rose to N600 million monthly before I left office as we declared what came in monthly, but no one has heard of Ekiti IGR since I left.”
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According to him, the government has no excuse owing workers as there has been steady inflow of funds from the federation account, IGR and bail-out released by the Federal Government.
The candidate pledged to effect positive transformation in the state, if elected.
Fayemi promised that his eight-point agenda would launch Ekiti on the path of development, including human capital development.
He accused Fayose of playing politics with issues that ordinarily would bring about development, including funds meant for rice production provided by the federal government.
According to him, whereas states such as Kebbi, Jigawa and Ogun have accessed the fund, Fayose had ignored the benefits the fund would bring to rice farmers, especially in Igbemo-Ekiti and other rice belts in the state.
He dismissed insinuations that he was out for revenge, saying: “On what basis should I come on a vengeance mission? Nobody has offended me, the secret of June 21, 2014 is quite open to us all.
“You refused to pay teachers for ten months but you are saying ‘we may not pay your salaries but the man coming wants to sack you.
“During Fayemi’s administration, no final year secondary school student paid WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and JAMB fees but now, pupils from primary to SS3 students are now paying taxes.”
He added: “We didn’t owe workers monthly salary except for September 2014 and this was because the incoming government approached our financial institutions and opt to halt our arrangements.
“We had regular training and re-training of workers in Ekiti, we paid core subject allowances, rural allowances to teachers, car loans, housing loans to our workers.”
Fayemi listed other areas of achievement while in office to include the revival of Ire Burnt Bricks Industry and Ikogosi Warm Spring, among others.
