I have just read the spurious explanation of Governor Kayode Fayemi for not fixing the Ado-Akure road. He wants Nigerians to blame the Federal Government for frustrating him from taking a loan from the African Development Bank to repair the road and toll it. The Ekiti people reject the dubious explanation of Governor Fayemi because we are not fools.
Nobody should take Governor Fayemi seriously as he is trying to blame his failure on the Federal Government that is controlled by his political party, the All Progressive Congress (APC). Dr. Fayemi was a Minister for two years but he failed to influence the Federal Government to put the road in the budget. Owing to the efforts of other concerned Ekiti indigenes the Ado-Akure road was included in the budget of the Federal Government. But Governor Fayemi failed to use his influence the Federal Government to release fund to repair the road. Governor Fayemi could not influence the Federal Government to fix the road even though he was the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum for two years and his alleged close relationship with President Buhari.
If the Federal Government had cautioned Governor Fayemi to desist from adding to the debt burden of Ekiti State by taking another huge loan from the African Development Bank to repair the Ado-Akure road why did he not repair the road and claim refund from the Federal Government. Why did he not collaborate with his friend and brother Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State to fix the road?
We are not unaware that the sum of N10 billion was recently paid to the Fayemi administration by the Federal Government for fixing a federal road. Even though Governor Fayemi was fixing federal roads last why was the Ado-Akure road not fixed by Governor Fayemi? Why did Governor Fayemi spend the sum of N14 billion the construction of the 7-kilometer Ado-Iyin road instead of fixing the Ado-Akure road? Will the Ondo State Government not have fixed its own end of the road if Governor Fayemi had paid attention to the Ado-Akure road?
By the way, we should be talking of Ikere-Akure road because the Ayo Fayose regime was forced to fix and dualise the Ado-Ikere road when I petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the looting of the treasury of Ekiti State. Is Governor Fayemi saying that the Ekiti State Government could not have fixed the Ikere-Akure road if the state government had got his priority right? But Governor Fayemi preferred to waste money on a so called cargo airport when the Akure airport meant to serve the two states is completely under utilised.
As an Ekiti man, I was ashamed when the lousy Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State asked Governor Fayemi why he was campaigning to be president of Nigeria when he could not fix the Ado-Akure road. Despite such indictment by his colleague, Governor Fayemi continued with the expensive campaign and spent the meagre fund of Ekiti State on a useless campaign only to step down for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the primary of the APC.
Instead of apologising to the Ekiti people for his failure to fix the Ikere-Akure road, Governor Fayemi wants the Ekiti people to blame the Buhari administration. Does Governor Fayemi want the Ekiti people to also blame President Buhari for the collapse of all the state roads in Ekiti State?
Morakinyo Ogele Esq.