Parties trade allegations as campaigns for Ekiti governorship polls rage

•Fayemi challenges Fayose to market square debate over state finances
Major political parties in the Ekiti State governorship election have alleged various reasons why their opponents would loose the contest.

Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Akinloye Ayegbusi, declared that he is the biblical David that would liberate the state from the Ayodele Fayose-led government.

Ayegbusi made the pledge in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend during a mega rally to present the party’s flag to him.

He urged the people not to be despaired anymore because their time of liberation from poverty, insecurity, unemployment and disease has come.

The candidate also urged the youths to support the SDP, which produced one of them as its candidate.

On the other hand, former members of the Ekiti State Executive Council from 2010 to 2014 have commended their principal, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

They pledged their unalloyed support for his success at the July 14 poll.

A former Deputy Governor of the state, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, promised the ex-EXCO members to support Fayemi’s campaign activities.

According to them, the former governor would take the state to greater heights by restoring its core values, and removing the current hunger in the land.

On his part, the candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prof. Kolapo Olusola, has asked the APC candidate to explain how he spent statutory allocations and other funds that accrued to his government from 2010 to 2014.

Olusola said documents from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the National Bureau of Statistics show that Fayemi collected a total of N165 billion as allocations.

These excluded the regular funds from Excess Crude Oil Account, grants, and internally generated revenues among others.

He added that Fayemi also took N25 billion bond and N35 billion commercial loans with nothing to show for them.

In a statement by the Director General of his Campaign Organisation, Bisi Kolawole in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, he disclosed that Fayose’s administration had done creditably well, despite the lean resources at its disposal.

Olusola said all the projects that Fayemi took the loans to provide were never completed.

But Fayemi in his reaction has challenged Fayose to a market square debate over how both of them spent the state finances.

He said this was necessary to know who among them was profligate with the finances of the state.

The APC candidate threw the challenge, while reacting to the demand by the PDP that he should explain how he spent N165 billion received by the state.

He disclosed that his financial transactions were contained in the hand-over documents that he gave to Fayose.

He added that there is no part of Ekiti where his government did not establish projects.