‘Fayemi not moved by PDP antics’

On Ekiti 2014 elections

I sincerely believe 2014 will be interesting in Ekiti State for a number of reasons. The governorship election will be issue- based and issue –driven. An informed electorate who have of recent tasted good governance cannot be easily taken in by sugar-coated politicians. So, I foresee a situation where aspirants are put to task on their promises.

You know talk is cheap. It is not enough to say I will do one, two of twenty things, the main issue will be how would you do them, within what frame and at what cost as well as where the fund will be sourced? Of course, it is a time Ekiti people will not suffer any fool gladly. You must be able to dazzle them with your brilliance and sincerity of purpose before they can count you worthy of being an aspirant to the exalted office of Governor of Ekiti State.

The Omoluabi factor is there also, and this you cannot buy in the market. You either have it or you don’t. In 2014, there will be no room for dubious characters -emergency millionaires, court jesters and fraudsters. It is a time that people’s credentials and claims would be properly scrutinised by the electorate and by the time the electorate begin to ask pertinent questions, a good number of the aspirants will fizzle out. While it is the alienable right of every citizen to aspire to high office, the mere decision of some people to contest constitutes an insult to the sensibility of Ekiti people.

For instance, you can’t have a chain of unresolved murder cases or other high profile cases and think the people will not ask questions. You can’t cart away government properties under your care and think people will not ask questions now that you are coming around the second time. In this line up of aspirants, you will see some that have traversed about six different political parties and you think the people will not ask question about such mobility.

As we talk now, there are some of the aspirants who give the impression that they are running on the platform of a political party, whereas, their fingers are in some other parties. Some are also haunted by their past deeds.

On the opposition in Ekiti

The opposition in Ekiti State provides the comic relief. And this comes in different shapes and shades in various factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. They have since lost direction and are just groping around in the dark. And having failed to connect with the people, they have now resorted to battling the incumbent government with all manner of lies. Like a drowning man, they are just holding on to anything, including their attempt to re-write the laws of the land through their illiterate approach to legal interpretation and illogical reasoning. My advice to them is that opposition is no license for rascality or irresponsible behavior nor does it make one a certified purveyor of falsehood. Sometimes the jocose excitement they display on some seemingly insignificant issues shows their shallowness and poverty of ideas. The developmental strides of the Fayemi administration is quite evident in the massive physical development of the state as well as the huge investments in education, health care , agricultural business, tourism and human capital development. This has earned the government acceptability by the generality of the people and this has remained a big headache for the PDP, who for about seven and a half years, failed to provide responsive and responsible leadership for the state, but succeeded only in putting the state in the news for all the wrong reasons. You know ours is a quiet revolution in Ekiti State and that is why you hardly see this government join issues with the opposition.

On Ayo Fayose’s recent allegations

Really, the former governor is entitled to his own views. I must say however that he is missing some points and this could  be as a result of insufficient  information at his disposal or a deliberate attempt at mischief. But if he has been following developments in Ekiti State, he would have known that the era of “bole kaja” government has gone. The Fayemi administration is an open book that can be assessed, read and comprehended by every citizen. All government transactions are properly documented and details of activities of government, including its spending, are just a click away. Unlike the lawlessness of the past, the government’s transactions are guided by the relevant laws that were deliberately put in place to ensure good governance. The cost implication of all projects are well publicized in the spirit of transparency and the result is the excellent execution of the various projects. Mr. Fayose’s allegation that roads are constructed at very unreasonable high cost are unfounded. There are standards of awarding road contracts  in the country. In the case of Ekiti, compensation were paid to owners of structures that were demolished to pave the way for some of the roads. The total cost of such compensation were also included in the cost of the road and that is why some road projects where compensations were paid cost higher than some where little or no compensation were paid. The former governor also alleged that indigenous contactors are not being patronized. Nothing can be farther from the truth than this.

On Oni’s case

I wouldn’t like to comment on the case or any other one for that matter. But really, it appears that going in and out of the court is another way Oni and his cohorts amuse themselves and try, however feebly, to get a mention in the media. I am not a lawyer, but I have enough common sense to know that in the eye of the law, all matters relating to the 2007 governorship election in Ekiti State have been laid to rest by the landmark judgment of the Court of Appeal, sitting in Ilorin on October 15, 2010. Honestly, I do not know what they want the court to do again.