Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has said he is not afraid of being probed by the incoming administration on the management of state treasury after his exit from power.
Fayose disputed the claim of the Transition Committee set up by the governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, that latest record from the Debt Management Office (DMO) shows that Ekiti debt under his watch has ballooned to N117 billion.
The panel made the revelation on Friday while turning in its report to the governor-elect.
Fayose contended that Fayemi is laying foundation for “an impending failure” with the excuses of the alleged N117 billion which he described as a ruse to hoodwink Ekiti people.
In a statement on Sunday by his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Fayose wondered why Fayemi could not avail himself of the opportunity to clear himself of the way and manner he handled the state treasury before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry which probed his administration.
The outgoing governor claimed that he did not commit the State to any financial institution in form of bonds and commercial loans.
According to him, “no loan can be granted without the approval of the DMO and the Federal Ministry of Finance throwing a challenge to the two institutions to publish details of any loan taken by his administration, including the banks that granted such loans.”
Fayose said: “Unlike him (Fayemi) who was not courageous enough to answer questions on his administration before a duly constituted probe panel, Governor Fayose is not afraid of being probed either by the State or Federal
Government.”
“Ekiti State indebtedness stands at N59.5 billion that was either directly inherited from the Fayemi’s administration or incurred as a result of the loans restructuring done at the instance of the federal government and the Federal Economic Council.”
He gave the breakdown as follows; Commercial Bank Loan, N2,087,788,065.28; CBN Grant for Water Project, N163,450,000; Excess Crude Account Backed Loan, N9,545,173,472.78; Bailout, N9,083,761,215.40; FGN Bonds, N18,226,699,707.18; State Bonds, N3,484,469,345.51 and Budget Support, N16,869,000,000.
He added: “Particularly, the N10 billion grant released from the Excess Crude Account for capital projects was fund that should normally accrue to all States.
“Most importantly, we admit that the State workers are being owed four months’ salary and this was occasioned by the monthly deductions from the State allocation as a result of huge debt incurred by the Fayemi administration. Even the N9.5 billion bailout fund was for the payment of the arrears of salaries and deduction left unpaid by the Fayemi’s government.”
Fayose accused the federal government of deliberately refusing to release legitimate funds belonging to Ekiti State to his government.
He alleged that N22.6 billion refund on federal roads construction, N2.1 billion arrears of Budget Support and N14.1 billion Paris Club refund, making N38.8 billion, which should have been paid to the State since June is billed to be released in November to Fayemi’s government.
He admonished Fayemi to use the N38.8 billion to clear the arrears of workers salary, which would have been paid by now if the federal government had released the fund, on the basis of which Governor Fayose promised to clear arrears of workers salary before leaving office.