Probe panel on Fayemi’s administration submits report

The panel set up by the Ekti State government to look into the accounts and financial transactions of the state from October 2010 to October 2014 has submitted its report to Governor Ayodele Fayose.

The panel, headed by retired Justice Silas Oyewole, submitted its report on Wednesday and said the panel, which had three months to do its work when inaugurated in May this year, had to bid its time to see to the end of the litigation by former Governor Fayemi.

In its recommendations, the panel claimed that there were deviations from the approved cost in the prospectus for the bond proceeds without approval either by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or other relevant authorities of the state should be sanctioned.

It said “the state government should take appropriate action against SEC for not invoking necessary penalties against individuals who carried out these illegal deviations during the period under review.”

The panel said the contractor that furnished the government house at Oke Ayoba should be made to refund the excess sum of N324.8 million it said was “collected above N280,156,923.66 being the valuation sum.”

The panel also said it found out that KITWOOD Nigeria Limited to which the furnishing contract of over N600 million was awarded had no traceable

address and that “the address on the Letter of Award is a virgin land at opposite the new Central Bank along new Iyin Road, Ado Ekiti.”

The panel said former Governor Fayemi must account for the whereabouts of a sum of N2.75 billion allocated from the N25 billion bond obtained by the government for the execution of contract for the construction of a market in Ado Ekiti, which was never executed.

On the purchase of vehicles, the panel said “claim by Coscharis Motors that it supplied 235 and/or 250 vehicles was fraudulent and that fraught with so many contradictions.

“That Coscharis Motors supplied some vehicles outside Ekiti State especially, at Ibadan Liaison office when Ekiti State Government does not have a Liaison office in Ibadan. In respect of this, seven vehicles were supplied outside the State and signed for by unknown persons.

That Coscharis Motors only supplied 219 vehicles to the Ekiti State government and that 17 Joylong Buses were supplied to the Ekiti State government as gift but later carted away.”

Governor Fayose, while speaking in the occasion said calling out people to account for their stewardship should not be termed witch-hunting, contending that “as leaders, we must be accountable to the led.”

Governor Fayose maintained that the people of the state had “the inalienable right to know how their commonwealth was being used.”

He commended the panel for what he said was a thorough job, saying the panel waited for the outcome of the court case instituted by former Governor Fayemi before it concluded its job.

He said: “We did this because we believe in the rule of law and if the court had rule that we should stop, we would have stopped. There is no witch hunting in a situation whereby people are asked to account for their stewardship. I’m glad that the Federal Government was also pursuing the policy of accountability and we are following suit here too.”

Meanwhile, Governor Fayose has inaugurated a four-man administrative panel to study the report and come out with a White Paper.

The administrative panel is headed by the Commissioner for Justice, Mr Kolapo Kolade.