Ekiti @20: What keeps me going —Fayose •Laments Ekiti’s high turnover of governors

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9 years ago

Governor Ayodele Fayose has said that his controversial traits and toughness as a leader are some of the features that keep him and his government going in the face of the tough challenges in this period of recession.

The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, on Saturday, said when his performance as a second term governor is compared with those of past governors and administrators of the state since its creation in 1996, he should be given a pass mark for his achievements.

He said: “Ekiti was created 20 years ago. It is the only one among the states created at the same time that is yet to have either airport or airstrip. Still, the opposition does not see this as minus for the state.

“I don’t know how to play politics with development of the state. To me, its Ekiti first. My detractors know what I am made off and are disturbed by my achievement. That is why they will always concoct lies to distract me. “I am not a rookie, I am a second term governor, if it is not photocromic, it is soldier used to rig. If it is not Dasuki money today, tomorrow they will fabricate many unimaginable lies.

The dirty politics here is responsible for Ekiti having about 11 governors as opposed to Ebonyi with four since 1996. During my first tenure, the opposition said there was no need to dualise roads in the state capital, everybody is enjoying it today.”

According to him, “My priority is to leave Ekiti better than I met it. What I did during my first tenure are those visible things in the state today. I may be tough, I may be controversial, but all these are catalyst to my performance. I built the first governor’s office, dualised roads of the state capital, constructed roads in all nooks and crannies of the state, put on ground many structures for use of the state. I always scored the first position in development of the state.”

He repeated his allegation that ex-Governor Fayemi had left the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBED) worse than he left it, and also claimed that the projects, which the immediate past administration sunk a lot of borrowed money into, were uncompleted and of no real benefit to the people of the state.

Fayose described himself as “a visionary leader”, saying: “I dont wait until there is dire need for anything. I always plan for the future. Is it when there is gridlock in Ado Ekiti before we build flyover? Must there be fire incident before you have fire service station? I thank the almighty God for bringing me back as Ekiti State governor.