Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said that he is not afraid of being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The governor also said he was not bothered by threats by some politicians in the state to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Speaking during the foundation laying ceremony of the multi-billion naira Erekesan Market in Ado-Ekiti, Fayose said he would fulfill all his promises to the people of the state, adding that due process was being followed in the execution of his projects.
He said, “I will concentrate on my work and would not be distracted by anybody making effort to discredit my government. I’m ready for any investigation from anybody; ICPC or EFCC, a man with good intentions fears no foe.
“I know that I have so many enemies and that is why I have been following due process in all my dealings. There are enemies for me when I sleep and when I wake up, so I have to be careful. I don’t want my enemies to latch on to technicalities to get at me.
“Ekiti is the only state where people want to discredit any good thing you want to do. As a leader, you must be fearless as long as your agenda is for development. I’m assuring you that in spite of the harsh economic situation, I’ll fulfill my promises in the budget and I’ve got more for you. You aren’t seeing anything yet.”
Fayose described the speculations going round that some PDP politicians were planning to dump the party as “mere rantings.”
There was a rumour last week that a former Acting Governor, Tope Ademiluyi; ex-envoy to Republic of Congo, Princess Jolaade Onipede and over 30 aggrieved PDP stalwarts were planning to defect to the APC.
Fayose said, “I am not scared by these defection threats. If you want to go, you better leave now. I always rely on the masses rather than politicians, because they don’t betray like politicians (do).
“Politics is a game and we shall play it for them in 2018. When you make the people your pillar, you will never fail. I am confident that I will defeat them if election is held here 20 times, because I make the masses the pillar of support.”
In a related development, Fayose has also described the controversies surrounding the 2016 Budget of the Federal Government as a confirmation that the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari were not prepared for governance.
He said if a government could not prepare a budget, it should be concluded that its players never prepared for governance and such might not be able to achieve anything.
He also described the padding of the budget with strange figures, which were being denied by ministers, as a clear intention to steal.
He said, “What those who prepared the budget did was to steal in advance. It is clear advance fraud and be it civil servants, political appointees or consultants, those responsible for this national embarrassment must be fished out and prosecuted.”
According to a statement issued on Friday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, the governor urged the President to end the embarrassment caused by the incident by formally withdrawing the 2016 Appropriation bill.
The governor, however, commended the National Assembly for suspending the budget passage, adding that he was highly embarrassed to see a tweet by the BBC Africa about the issue.
