N11B Refund, You're Incurable Liar - JKF's Commissioner Tells Fayose

Dapo Kolawole and Fayose

My attention has been drawn to the statement credited to Governor Ayodele Fayose during his “Meet Your Governor” interview today February 28, 2018 that the case of libel and slander I instituted at the Federal High Court against some principal officials of Ekiti State is denying them N11bn refund due on roads from the Federal Government and the ability to pay salaries to the workers in the state has been dismissed.

I wish to inform the general public and the good people of Ekiti State that Governor Ayodele Fayose was economical with the truth about the N11bn refund during his “Meet Your Governor” interview. 

For the umpteenth time, the N11bn refund is being challenged in the court as a consequence of several misleading information on the indebtedness of Ekiti State by Governor Fayose against Dr Fayemi since he came on board the affairs of Ekiti State and more so as a result of the  outcome of the recent judicial panel which I believe was as a result of political victimization. 

For the avoidance of doubt, the matter in the court is to correct the lies and misleading information of the current government that:

            1. The debt left behind by the former government was N27bn and not the N85bn claimed by Governor Ayodele Fayose and his cronies;

2.         Apart from the outstanding debt of N27bn, there was a Cash and Bank Balances of N3,120,064,725.84 in the banks accounts and $9,246.58 in SEPIP Domiciliary account of the State as at October 15, 2014 when Governor Fayemi left office while the sum of N17,724538,594:94 was the refund due to Ekiti State from the Federal Government, being the cost of some projects expended from the outstanding debt of N27bn owed banks and financial institutions by the immediate past government.

It is instructive to note that if Governor Fayose humbled himself by saying the true financial position of the State under previous government rather than misleading the general public and suppression of information at the Judicial panel he recently instituted, there would have been no need to respond to him through the court.

I wish to also state that the refund on roads by the Federal Government is not only due to Ekiti State but all the 36 (Thirty Six) States of the federation and no state has being paid by the Federal Government any refund till date. Thus, it is only at the point that the Federal Government is paying all states the refund due to them that Governor Fayose could claim that the case in court denied him access to the N11bn refund due to Ekiti State if the case is still pending in court.

As it stands today, I wish to state that no state of the federation has been paid any refund by the Federal Government. So I advise Governor Ayodele Fayose to stop using the present matter at the court as a cover up to deny the workers of their dues.

It should be noted by all that Governor Fayose has received all revenues from the Federation Account Allocation Committee(FAAC) just like other states of the federation, so he should be merciful enough to pay Ekiti workers.

Finally, I wish to state that there is no basis for Governor Ayodele Fayose to owe salaries in Ekiti State having received more revenue from the Federation Account than the immediate past government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

‘Dapo Kolawole, fca