Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has dispelled the notion in some quarters that he has an axe to grind with President Muhammadu Buhari, saying he is only telling the president the truth.
“I am not attacking Buhari, I am only telling him the truth. I was 24 years old when Buhari became military head of state. We queued then before we could purchase essential commodities; this is the same way things were difficult”, he said yesterday.
The governor also alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has shifted attention to the finances of the state following its failure to establish a nexus between him and the funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser under Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
Mr. Fayose alleged that the anti-graft agency had been harassing banks in Ekiti, seeking for records of government finances and chasing contractors over allegations that he was receiving kickbacks.
“They are on vendetta mission. They said I collected money from Dasuki and I have told them that I did not collect a dime from Dasuki. I have N300 million in my fixed Deposit Account in Zenith Bank and I declared it in my Assets Declaration Form.
“I have challenged them to publish the statement made to the EFCC by Dasuki where he said he gave Senator Musiliu Obanikoro money to give me or where Obanikoro himself said he gave me money.
“Since they have seen that the Dasuki money issue won’t offer them the implication of Fayose that they desperately needed, they are now harassing contractors in the State. But I can assure them that their efforts will come to nothing”, Fayose boasted.
He also reiterated his call to the federal government to declare emergency on agriculture, saying; “It is not enough to say people should go back to farming. The government must provide necessary farming equipment because you don’t expect the present day farming to be done with hoes and cutlasses.
“Again, apart from the north, where do we have functional irrigation system? If our people must go back to farming, especially in the Southwest, we need the federal government assistance on irrigation”.
