The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has come for Governor Ayodele Fayose asking him to judiciously use the bailout loans being facilitated by the Federal Government.
APC also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to monitor disbursements and appropriation of the loan.
The APC said the call became imperative against the backdrop of his alleged misapplication of the balance of the N4 billion bond taken by former Governor Adeniyi Adebayo, which Fayose allegedly diverted in 2004 for other purposes different from the terms of the bond.
In a statement on Thursday by the Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Taiwo Olatubosun, it said that Ekiti people would want Fayose to spend the loans for salary and other debts owed civil servants and former political office holders.
He revealed the disbursements and spending of the loans would be monitored to ensure compliance with the terms of borrowing to curb diversion.
“Our concern is premised on the alarms Governor Fayose has been raising on the status of the state’s debts, particularly his condemnation of the Federal Government’s bailout initiative, which he dismissed as not a bailout but a statutory allocation.
“It is gratifying that the Federal Government again made available N9.6b to the state to offset salaries, allowances and other emoluments owed civil servants, pensioners and former political appointees, but we have our reservations on the governor’s new move to access another N10bn to be repaid in 10 years.
“Our reservations is premised on the evidence that the governor has no development blueprint he put before Ekiti people during campaigns, fueling fears that the loan may end up like that of 2005 bond cash, which Fayose misappropriated in his N1.3b fraudulent poultry project that was never in his development blueprint,” Olatunbosun explained.
He said with the loan facilities, Fayose has no reason to owe any category of the state civil and public servants, including former political office holders, as the loans were mainly approved for such purposes.
Olatubosun urged workers to insist that the loans be devoted to the payment of their salaries as approved.
“Former political office holders should impress it on the governor to pay their severance allowances and other entitlements as approved in the mandate of the loan scheme,” he added.
