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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014
NEWS EKITI 2014
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•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi (second left) receiving his Certificate of Return from the National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Chairman of the Screening Committee, Senator Osita Izonazo, after the party’s governorship primary in Ado-Ekiti...on Saturday. With Fayemi are (from left) Ekiti State Deputy Governor Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Fayemi’s wife, Bisi; House of Assembly Speaker Adewale Omirin; and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Yemi Adaramodu.
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HE governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Ekiti State, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, has called for sanctions against parties that violate the Electoral Law. Bamidele, who is the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, said Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega must take punitive steps against parties found to be unruly. In a statement by his campaign organisation, at the weekend, he said INEC should not wait until people are killed in daylight by desperate politicians before imposing sanctions to curb “mindboggling excesses”. Regretting the “desperation” of some parties to win the June 21 election, Bamidele urged them to put the interest of the state above personal and narrow interests. He said it was disheartening that some parties that pledged to make their campaigns issue-based reneged on their promises. Bamidele said the LP had been conducting its campaigns lawfully, despite provocation from the opposi-
N25b bond necessary for growth, says Fayemi
HE Ekiti State government has described the N25 bil-
lion bond it obtained from the capital market in 2012 to fund some capital projects as the best option in view of the economic realities. Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development Dapo Kolawole said the government settled for the bond after considering its options, including embarking on an aggressive tax drive to improve its revenue base. He said Governor Kayode Fayemi insisted on seeking other ways, “rather than imposing extra-burden” on the people. Kolawole said the government settled for the bond
Delegates at the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, held at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo...on Saturday. Inset: Governor Rauf Aregbesola displaying his Certificate of Return after his emergence as the APC’s flag bearer in the August 9 poll. With him are Chairman, Osun APC Primary Nomination Committee, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (left); the Secretary of the Committee, Sir Emeka Akamukali (second right); a member of the committee, Hajiya Ramatu Aliyu (right) and others.
From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti
because it was the most transparent option. He said it had a 14.5 per cent interest rate as against the normal bank lending rate of between 20 and 22 per cent and a longer repayment time of seven years. Kolawole said less than two years after taking the bond, the Fayemi administration had judiciously used it to provide world-class infrastructure” and repaid over N11 billion. He said the state was virtually comatose before the advent of the Fayemi administration, adding that the
agricultural sector had become almost non-existent and the education sector was in a shambles. The commissioner said roads were barely passable and civil servants, owing to low morale, were inefficient. He said the bond was taken to stimulate the economy and rapidly develop the state. Kolawole listed projects executed with the bond to include 11 intra and inter township roads of over 170 kilometers, nine of which have been completed; a 10,000-seater pavilion in Ado-Ekiti, which is nearing completion; a four-storey
Bamidele seeks sanction for political violence
Liaison Office complex in Ikeja, Lagos State, which is nearing completion; and a Civic Centre, which has a 1500-seater amphitheater, three 150-seater cinema halls, three elevators, a museum and four floors of offices. Others are the re-development of the Ikogosi Warm Spring into a tourist destination; resuscitation of the Ire Burnt Bricks factory; construction of a Government House complex; construction of lecture rooms, a multipurpose hall and hostel at the newly approved College of Technical and Commercial Agriculture and the completion of the Oba Adejugbe Hospital in AdoEkiti.
From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti
tion. He said although some of his supporters had been intimidated, harassed and attacked since the campaigns began on March 23, the LP would not “betray the confidence reposed in it by the electorate”. The lawmaker said: “We find it difficult to believe that some parties have derailed from their promises to make the campaigns issue-based and agenda-driven. Some parties no longer campaign about what they would do for the people, but take pleasure in character assassination. “At campaign rallies, they pour invectives on perceived opponents. They no longer tell the people what they have in the pipeline for them, if elected. Little wonder there were accusations and counter-accusations from different directions that parties were being attacked. “INEC cannot afford to fold its arms to these shenanigans playing out in the polity else, the situation may escalate uncontrollably. INEC would have to invoke relevant provisions of the Electoral Act to check politicians, so that the election can be free, fair and devoid of bloodshed.”
Fayose: I won’t take up issues with APC
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HE governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, former Governor Ayo Fayose, has said he will not take up issues with Governor Kayode Fayemi and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the run down to the June 21 election. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Fayose told reporters in Abuja yesterday that: “This is not a sign of weakness on my part, but a sign of maturity, which I have gained over the years. I have vowed not to join issues with anyone on any matter between now and June 21. “This is to show that Ayo Fayose is now more mature than he was when he was the governor of Ekiti State. I am going to focus on issues. My intention is to concentrate on our campaigns to ensure that we do not only win, but have landslide victory.’’ He said he would, henceforth, concentrate on his strategies to ensure that the PDP reclaims the state . According to him, the strength of the APC at present is based on media propaganda. Fayose challenged his critics, who accused him of corruption and other sundry vices while in office, to come up with fresh allegations.