by Isi Esene

Governor Ayo Fayose has blamed the Kayode Fayemi administration for squandering Ekiti state resources leaving him with little or no funds to run the state.

Fayose made this disclosure yesterday while featuring on a radio/television programme ‘Meet your Governor’.

He also use the occasion to announce a reduction of the tuition being paid by students of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, from N50,000 to N30,000.

According to Fayose: “On the day of my inauguration, I gave an overview of what the debt profile of the state is. Later, we have been discovering a lot of needless loans taken by that government on non-viable projects.

“For instance, the Civic Centre they started in Ado-Ekiti, they have committed N1.2 billion into it and the contractors are saying another N1.2 billion is needed to complete it. Over N2 billion was spent on Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort and was given to their cronnies to manage, as of now, less than N10 million has accrued as income from it.

“They said I have been given some money on federal roads they worked on; that is a lie. The Federal Government is saying it won’t reimburse Ekiti because the Fayemi’s administration did not take permission to work on those roads.

“We are just liaising with them to get the situation redressed. No kobo has also been given to the state from Ecological Funds,” he said.

On the frosty relationship between him and All Progressives Congress members of the state House of Assembly, the governor accused the lawmakers of not putting Ekiti first in their considerations.

“Adewale Omirin, as the speaker, did not attend my inauguration ceremony. After the event, we met and talked and we agreed to work together. They asked that their monthly running grant of N48 million be paid in full, even when other agencies had theirs slashed by 60 per cent or stopped totally because of poor finances, we still gave them their full grant.

“The N2 billion loan for SMEs that we wanted to access from the CBN, they now said they should be given 10 per cent of it which is N200 million and I refused.

“They have a mindset and directive from their leaders that they must cripple my government and I know the people of the state will not allow that,” he stated.

Isime Esene