APC chides Fayose over stand on minimum wage

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has criticised Governor Ayodele Fayose’s attempt to demonise fellow governors calling for a review of the minimum wage over failing health of the economy.

It said the messianic posturing by the governor by urging fellow governors to cut overseas trips and shun opulence instead of cutting workers’ pay was the height of hypocrisy by the governor.

Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said in a statement that Fayose was mischievous in his pro-workers stances, noting that the governor is the most guilty of what he was advising his fellow governors to shun to enable them pay their workers.

He said: “Fayose is mischievous in his pro-workers posturing. This is a man that travels every month end to South Africa and Dubai even when records show that Ekiti has no bilateral pact with these countries.
“This is the governor that sacked many permanent secretaries and other categories of workers. He is the first and only governor that cut the salaries and allowances of the few political office holders he appointed in breach of the law but increased his personal security vote.
“The governor asking fellow governors to shun opulence is the only governor in Nigeria going about with outriders on BMW superbikes, each costing millions of naira while exotic cars are the choice for his long convoys”

He added, “He buys up full pages of advert in newspapers daily costing millions of taxpayers money, to abuse the President, yet he cannot pay workers’ salary”.

Olatunbosun maintained that Fayose dribbled the workers to no end in the application of the bailout fund, pointing out that many teachers, local government workers and past political office holders were yet to be paid, though their entitlements were captured in the bailout demand to the Federal Government

He also accused the governor of claiming a glory that does not belong to him, saying the budget transparency honour award by a civil society group, Civil Resource Development Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), which declared Ekiti State as the most transparent in budget planning and implementation, was actually a feat achieved by the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Kayode Fayemi

Let us thank God that CIRDDOC stated clearly in its report that it obtained its data between July and December 2014. The result was the outcome of budget planning and implementation for 2014 by Governor Fayemi. Fayose did not prepare that budget, neither did he implement it.
“The budget for the period between July and December 2014 was prepared by Fayemi and he ran that budget from January till October 2014 before Fayose took over as governor.

“Fayemi visited all the 177 towns and villages in 2013 to seek people’s inputs into 2014 budget. It was the people who chose the projects they wanted in the budget and that is one of the criteria set by CIRDDOC in giving the award. Fayemi did it faithfully between 2011 and 2013 while Fayose’s approach to budget planning and implementation is a one-man show in the corner of his room and the budget that was discountenanced by Fayose who embarked on the construction of an Airport not captured therein, or the dualisation of his Afao Ekiti town, could never have been applauded by such transparent organisation.

“The result of Fayemi’s initiative is what CIRDDOC released to the public praising Ekiti State for budget transparency and we wonder why a man noted for direct opposite of what Fayemi stands for is the one now claiming credit for Fayemi’s achievement”.