APC lambasts Fayose over N250m Dubai Christmas trip

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has described Governor Ayo Fayose’s Christmas Dubai trip as a reckless insensitivity to the workers’ plight, saying it was a height of irresponsibility by the governor to embark on private comfort abroad while state workers live in miserable conditions during festive Yuletide season.

Specifically, the party accused the governor of refusal to pay workers salary for three months while embarking on Christmas foreign trip through over-bloated expenses costing Ekiti people N250m.

Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement described the governor’s Sunday trip to Dubai as the height of insensitivity and wickedness for a governor who always calls himself peoples’ governor.

“It is more worrisome that the governor prepared and collected travelling allowances for 10 aides who he claimed were to travel with him to Dubai, but only one eventually made the trip while money running into millions for the remaining nine was pocketed by the governor,” Olatunbosun alleged.

He added that the Dubai trip “confirmed our earlier alarm that Fayose is taking Ekiti money out to the Middle East country whenever he receives allocation from the Federal Government”.

He added: “Fayose just visited local governments where he lied to the workers that the state government is broke whereas he has appropriated N250m for his needless trip and those of ghost aides after setting aside another N250 million for his monthly personal security vote.

“This is a governor who few days ago accused his colleagues of extravagant spending through foreign trips even though he himself is the greatest culprit. This confirms our allegation that Governor Fayose is an incorrigible con artist that ever lives.”

Regretting that Fayose was dehumanising Ekiti people through anti-people policies, such as heavy taxes that could not be accounted for, he said this was unlike in former Governor Kayode Fayemi’s era in 2013 when workers collected their December salary a week to Christmas in addition to 30 per cent of their annual basic salary as Christmas bonus. “Fayose again conned Ekiti workers by paying ten per cent of their monthly basic salary which translated to about N700 (seven hundred naira) to most workers while he shamelessly boasted he had paid workers’ bonus,” he said.

He added that even though he collected over N9b cash for bailout to clear arrears of workers’ salary, pensions and allowances of former political office holders, the money was allegedly diverted to other purposes. “He is owing Ekiti workers three months salary arrears, pensioners four months arrears and has not paid severance and furniture allowances of former political office holders,” he explained.

Calling on EFCC and ICPC to invite Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Accountant General and the Auditor General for interrogation on how the finances of the state were mismanaged on the alleged governor’s instructions, the party reiterated its resolve to institute a legal action against the governor over alleged financial recklessness and refusal to account for all the monies he collected from the Federation Account.

Responding, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi, said the APC allegation is following their usual ludicrous accusation and commentary.

Ogunsuyi said: “The governor is on holiday like every other worker who has worked conscientiously throughout the year, it was not an official journey and it means the governor will be responsible forall the expenses, because he traveled as Mr Fayose and not as Governor Fayose.

“APC is talking having lost all relevance. Every worker in Ekiti has been paid October salary, unless the party has a different calendar, what is outstanding is November and December salaries and the people could understand the reason behind it.

“The bailout was expended as instructed by the CBN. It is left for the CBN through its audit mechanism to say anything in response to what the APC has said. They are campaigning to gain some relevance they have lost.

“They should send their petition to EFCC, because they are the one that has power to probe and indict”, he said.