Ekiti APC tackles governor, Labour over bailout funds

•They’re ignorant of governance dynamics, says PDP

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has criticised Governor Ayodele Fayose for allegedly diverting the recent bailout of N8.8 billion meant for the payment of backlog of workers’ salaries and pensioners’ allowances.

It also accused Ekiti Labour leaders of conspiracy with the governor in in the management of the funds claiming that union leaders are looking away in “an unholy romance with the governor for personal interests,” while workers suffer over unpaid salaries and allowances.

APC asserted that the Federal Government was in possession of information that Fayose had allegedly diverted the fresh bailout fund of N8.8b to other purposes other than what it was meant for.

In a statement issued by the publicity secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party said the governor was coldhearted for refusing to use the money to pay workers’ salaries, pensions and severance allowances to former political office holders like his counterparts in other states that benefitted from the same fresh bailout.

They regretted that while labour leaders in other states were always in support of workers enjoying their legitimate benefits, Ekiti Labour leaders were hobnobbing with the governor in an “unholy alliance to protect the governor for their own personal benefits.”

He said: “It is more worrisome that whenever the labour leaders chose to talk on the welfare of Ekiti workers, they always defend the governor who has pauperised the workers despite availability of funds from the bailout received twice amounting to N20 billion.

“Fayose only spent the state’s normal monthly allocation, which has accumulated for many months, to pay one month salary while giving the impression that he paid the salary from the new bailout he collected.”

The party said it had been vindicated in its earlier claim that the governor diverted the first bailout, adding that the action by the governor was a confirmation of its view that Fayose had never been sincere and transparent in his financial dealings concerning state resources.

Olatunbosun scoffed at the latest statement by the Commissioner of Finance, Toyin Ojo, declaring that the State’s wage bill had risen to N5.3b monthly, saying such statement was provocative in the face of the inconsistent figures being reeled out as the official wage bill of the state.

“This is a lie as the wage bill of Ekiti State is not even near N2.6 billion that Fayose claims, as records indicate that the State’s wage bill has drastically come down to around N1.7billion monthly.”

He also accused the governor of inflating the wage bill to justify his refusal to pay workers, including diverting the bailout fund to projects that would fetch him kickbacks.

“If Fayose is sincere about the finances of Ekiti State and has the milk of human kindness flowing in him, he ought to have considered the plights of workers and pensioners as he can conveniently pay between four and five month salaries and pensions like his counterparts in Ogun and Osun states.

Efforts to get the State chairman of NLC, Comrade Ade Adesanmi’s response proved abortive as his telephone numbers were not connecting and constantly saying not available when dialed.

However, the PDP said the allegation against the Governor has further confirmed that the APC is “peopled by confused and ignorant minds that will fail in any economic question even at the simplest level of kindergarten”.

The party’s publicity secretary, Mr. Jackson Adebayo urged the Labour leaders to ignore the attacks and not to join “the party in their display of ignorance”.
Adebayo berated the APC to have quoted various figures being allegedly collected as bailout by the state government and advised the party to contact the Federal Ministry of Finance to get its facts