Highly vocal governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has revealed the major impediment to the inability of his administration to pay the salaries of workers.
Governor Ayodele Fayose
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has blamed his inability to pay workers salaries on the huge debt inherited from the immediate past administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi, Vanguard reports.
According to Fayose, the N25 billion bonds from the Capital Market and another N31 billion commercial loans, by the Fayemi’s administration are responsible for the poor financial condition of the state and the challenges faced in the payment of workers’ salaries.
Fayose, who stated this while reacting to the no-shift-ground stance of the striking workers, said about N1.2 billion is being deducted monthly from the state’s allocation to service the loans which the Kayode Fayemi administration took in its four years in the saddle.
The governor said if the N1.2 billion being deducted is added to the state’s monthly allocations, his administration will not owe workers.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Fayose took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress, APC, which he said had been encouraging the labour not to call off the strike action.
He said it was quite unfortunate that the Fayemi administration also diverted the N850 million meant for the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board and thereby leading to the suspension of the state from the Universal Basic Education Commission programmes since 2012.
Fayose said he was surprised that when Fayemi took the loans which now made payment of workers’ salaries difficult, the labour did not kick against the moves. The governor said the strike had been politicised because of his criticism of the bad policies of the Federal Government and his fight against tyranny.