THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi of using the state’s money to finance his presidential declaration.
Fayemi declared his intention to run for president on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Wednesday.
The Ekiti State chapter of the PDP reacted to Fayemi’s presidential declaration in a statement released by its spokesperson, Raphael Adeyanju.
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The opposition party accused Fayemi of taking more than a billion naira from the state’s purse for his presidential consultations and declaration.
“From information available to us, over N300 million Ekiti State money was spent on that declaration while more than N1 billion was spent on the governor’s consultation across the country,” the statement said.
The party challenged Fayemi to tell Nigerians how well he has governed the state to qualify him as Nigeria’s next president.
The PDP said the governor has refused to pay the entitlements of workers and pensioners in Ekiti State.
According to the PDP, 95 per cent of those who attended the declaration in Abuja were sponsored on taxpayers’ money by the Fayemi-led state government.
The party noted that a “presidential declaration that had 95 per cent attendance from Ekiti should have been held in Ado Ekiti”.
While dismissing Fayemi’s promises to tackle insecurity head-on if elected president, the party alleged that Ekiti State was now a haven for kidnappers and bandits.
The PDP wondered how Fayemi would be able to secure the entire nation if he could not provide adequate security for residents of the state he has governed for the past three years.
“Ekiti State residents can no longer sleep with their eyes closed. Most of the roads have been taken over by bandits who are kidnapping people at will and collecting cigarettes, noodles, can beer, sachet water and so on as ransom.
“If Ekiti is not secured under Fayemi as the governor, how can Nigeria be secured under him as the president? Can the country afford to replace a tyrannical emperor like Buhari with Fayemi his alter ego?
“What will be the fate of the Nigerian workers under president Fayemi who takes pleasure in sacking workers as a state governor?”
The PDP further alleged that Fayemi laid off workers employed by his predecessor, former governor Ayo Fayose, when he took over the helms of affairs of the state in 2018.
According to the PDP, Fayemi refused to heed a court judgement that ordered the reinstatement of the sacked workers.
The party asked if he was “coming to replicate the same as president of Nigeria?”
Fayemi joined the presidential race on the platform of the APC on Wednesday, promising that if elected, he would reinvigorate rural areas, build the economy and also offer hope to Nigerians.
He also said he would address the country’s security challenges.
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