Ekiti State
House of Assembly on Thursday summoned the immediate past Governor of the state, Mr.
Ayodele Fayose, to appear before its Committee on Public Accounts over alleged
misappropriation of local government funds while in office.
Also summoned alongside the former governor are the
former chairman of the Association of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria
(ALGON), Mr. Dapo Olagunju; former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs,
Mr. Kola Kolade, and all the former 16 local government areas chairmen.
The assembly decision was as a result of the
adoption of the recommendations of the joint committee of the Assembly on
Public Petition and Local Governments that were recently directed to look into
a petition submitted to the assembly by eight suspended council chairmen in the
state
The assembly had in December 2018 suspended the 16
council chairmen while eight were reinstated in July 2019.
Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Public
Petition Committee, Hon Adegoke Olajide, said the remaining eight chairmen on
suspension made a plea to the assembly for the review of their indictment and
possible reinstatement.
He said the chairmen, during an appearance before
the committee confessed to having diverted funds of their councils on monthly
basis to an account, but said the action was in compliance with the directive
of the immediate past governor.
The Public Petition Committee chairman said the
council chairmen, who provided documents to back up their allegations, claimed
that the instruction to withdraw the council fund was often passed to them
through the former ALGON Chairman, Mr. Dapo Olagunju, and the former
Commissioner for Local Government Affair, Mr. Kola Kolade.
The assembly at the plenary also summoned a former
Speaker of the assembly, Pastor Kola Oluwawole; some suspended members of the
fifth assembly and the former governor over the passage of a N10 billion revised
Appropriation Law towards the end of the tenure of Fayose.
The motion for the summon was moved by the Assembly
Leader of Government Business, Hon Gboyega Aribisogan, on the recommendation of
the report of ad-hoc committee set up to probe the hurried passage of the 2018
revised budget.
A former aide of Fayose on Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka,
was also directed to appear before the lawmakers for not allegedly remitting
commercial revenue of above N13 million while serving as a supervisor at the
state-owned Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State.
The summon was consequent upon a motion moved by
the Chairman of the Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Ayokunle Yemisi,
at its plenary in Ado-Ekiti.
The lawmaker alleged that Olayinka operated an account
with a first generation bank where commercial proceeds belonging to the television
and radio outfits were diverted to, and the purchase of phones at exorbitant
rates as contained in the White Paper.
But responding through his media aide, Fayose said:
“I will not dignify an assembly of clowns who are under the total control of a
governor who is desperately in search of ways to cover his electoral thievery
and failure to secure the acceptance of Ekiti people.
"If they have any evidence of financial
impropriety against him (Fayose), they can ask the man who used text message to
appoint them to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives
and accommodate them in the Government House as he has done on many occasions.
As for us, we are moving on!"
Meanwhile, the state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi,
has sent a bill requesting for the reverse of the 2019 budget to the state assembly.
Presenting the bill to members of the assembly at the
plenary in Ado Ekiti, the Speaker of the assembly, Hon Funminiyi Afuye, who
read the governor’s letter justifying the request, said it was still in line
with the 2019-2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
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