Ekiti govt sues Fayemi, commissioner for alleged misappropriation of N4.9bn

The Ekiti  State government has filed criminal charges of corruption and stealing against a former governor of the state, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the Finance Commissioner during his administration, Mr Dapo Kolawole, over alleged misappropriation of funds belonging to the state to the tune of N4.9 billion.

The state government in a 19-count charge against the duo at an Ado Ekiti high court claimed that Fayemi, who currently serves as the Minister of Mines and Steel Development and Kolawole allegedly engaged in acts of stealing, abuse of office, criminal contempt, among others.

In the suit with number HAD/05c/2018, Fayemi and his Finance Commissioner were accused of misappropriating the sum of N4.9 billion it claimed were “the proceeds of Ekiti State Bond for the sum of N20 billion earmarked in the Bond Prospectus for various projects in the state that were either not done or partly done.”

On January 15 this year, the government had made public a white paper on the report of a judicial panel of inquiry it set up to probe the finances of the state between 2010 and 2014 when Fayemi served as governor of the state.

The panel had advised the government, among other things, to direct the state’s Ministry of Justice to “institute appropriate legal action(s) against Fayemi and others”, and had added that “Fayemi and his Finance Commissioner should be made to account for the whereabouts of the fund allocated to projects in the N25 billion Bond Prospectus, which were either not executed or partly executed.”
Fayemi and Kolawole were also charged with criminal contempt for refusing to appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry, an offence it claimed was “punishable under Section 13 of the Commission of Inquiry Law, Cap C. 10, Laws of Ekiti State, 2010, Section 126(2) of the Criminal Code laws, Cap C. 16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2010 and Criminal Contempt punishable under Section 133 of the same criminal code.”

The Ekiti State government recently announced the banning of former Governor Fayemi and Kolawole from holding public office in the state for 10 years, for their alleged refusal to appear before the commission of inquiry.