FEMI MAKINDE writes that the acrimony between Governor Kayode Fayemi and ousted Governor Segun Oni has taken a new dimension following the decision of the Fayemi-led government to probe the Oni administration Friday, May 31, 2013 will remain indelible in the political history of Ekiti State. It was the day seven Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, decided to strike out an appeal by a former Governor of the State, Mr. Segun Oni, against his successor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. The judgment brought reprieve to Fayemi, the Action Congress of Nigeria, and their supporters. It also ended a long drawn legal tussle over the number one seat in the state that prides itself as Nigeria’s fountain of knowledge. On his return to the state after his victory over Oni, Fayemi gave public notice of an impending probe of the financial transactions of the former governor. Oni was removed from office after the Justice Ayo Salami-led Court of Appeal handed down a judgment on October 15, 2010, thus ending a tenure which lasted for about three and a half years. Not satisfied, Oni returned to the Court and then went to the Supreme Court asking that the judgment which removed him from office be reversed. The matter dragged on for about two years before it was eventually struck out by the apex court for lack of jurisdiction. Tension had enveloped the state ahead of the court verdict. Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, especially those loyal to Oni, were hopeful that their benefactor would return to the Government House in Ado-Ekiti. Supporters of the ACN on the other hand expressed confidence that Oni had no case. However, they were apprehensive because they were afraid that the PDP might reach out to arm-twist the judiciary to favour Oni since the party had repeatedly boasted that it would capture the South-West. All that became history after the Supreme Court judgment. Fayemi made a triumphant entry into Ado-Ekiti 24 hours after the court’s pronouncement. While addressing supporters who trooped out to welcome him; he renewed his administration’s intention to probe Oni. The governor alleged that micro-credit loans were given out to chieftains of the PDP who stood as guarantors for beneficiaries. He also faulted contracts awarded by the Oni administration, saying projects were either badly executed or not executed at all. Fayemi said, “Any house built with spittle shall crumble, we are standing on the rock and that is why we are not afraid when these jesters took their case to the Supreme Court. “We are for the development of Ekiti State which all of you had seen with what we have used your resources for because we don’t believe in sharing the money belonging to our people. “With the conclusion of this case, they should be ready to account for how they stole our money, the contracts they used to siphon our money and all the micro-credit money they stole. “In law, they had no case and we knew they would come back to Ekiti State from the court with their tails within their legs. They even said Fayemi ran away from Ekiti but here I am. “On the day judgment was delivered, Oni had stayed in his house in Ifaki-Ekiti expecting to move to the Government House, what a wishful thinking? “We thank God for validating our election and this will reinvigorate us to work harder because we have more work to do and I want to assure our people that the best is yet to come.” Fayemi had on November 24, 2010 inaugurated the Contract/Consultancy Review Committee to carry out a comprehensive review of the contracts and consultancy services awarded by the administration of Oni between May 29, 2007 and October 15, 2010. The seven-member committee which was headed by Eben Falade had Mr. Akin Oso as secretary and Olusola Akinluyi as co-secretary. In a White Paper issued by the state government on the report of the CCRC and signed by Fayemi on May 11, 2011, the committee uncovered massive fraud, over-payment and sheer waste of the state resources by the ousted administration. According to the White Paper, the Oni administration defrauded the state through 11 contracts it awarded. It said the contracts included dualisation of Ado-Iworoko-Ifaki Road, Igede-Eyio-Iworoko Road, cross-boundary roads, and construction of five new state secretariat buildings. Others were: the new House of Assembly complex, cassava revolution scheme, purchase of 600 cows from South Africa for Ikun Dairy Farm and solar-powered streetlight which served no better purpose than ornamental trees. The committee noted that a number of these contracts were abandoned while very few were nearing completion. Five projects were inaugurated during the period. It said a total sum of N5.419, 506,264.55 was overpayment on 11 projects. It recommended that the administration should be made to refund the amount by all legal means. The CCRC report reads in part: “Segun Oni presided over one of the most corrupt and fraudulent administration in the history of Ekiti State. His administration infracted on due process leading to unpardonable and alarming waste of scarce resources. “The administration embarked on contract bazaar by awarding a total of 2,731 contracts within a space of three years without fiscal discipline and proper consideration for the quantum of money available to government. “All outstanding monies inform of overpayments, non-utilization of monies released and the likes, outstanding with contractors and consultants should be recovered from them using all appropriate measures.” The Oni administration was accused by opponents of concentrating on constructing roads in villages and hamlets while roads in the state capital were riddled with potholes and gullies. This, they alleged, was the administration’s way of punishing the people of Ado-Ekiti for supporting the ACN during the 2007 elections. The White Paper reads, “ Ekiti State funds were deliberately but in questionable circumstances, utilized to develop areas within Ondo, Osun, Kogi and Kwara States and as such, such expenditure are unconstitutional, improper, controversial, unconscionable, irregular and fraught with grave legal consequences. “A total sum of N787, 659,786.81 was confirmed in view of the figure in the table expended on the other state portions of the cross boundary roads.” The committee expressed surprise at the spending of the state’s resources to construct roads in other states. It explained that there was no record with the Ekiti State Ministry of Works to show that there was a liaison or reciprocal arrangement with the states which benefited from Oni’s unsolicited magnanimity. Oni has however dared the governor to probe him. He added that the governor should also be ready to probe himself. Oni said, “This time around, Fayemi must make real his threat and if he does not, we will go to court to get the court to compel him to do so. However, he must not be the one to appoint those who will carry out the probe because the finances of the government during his own tenure must also be probed. “Fayemi should stop threatening us with probe. We have told him several times to go ahead with the probe but he must also include the period that he has been governor of the state and the probe must be done by independent panel, comprising of the EFCC, ICPC, Transparency International ICAN, ANAN, NBA and other relevant bodies.” Oni, whose political future seems unsure following the outcome of the case and his removal as the national vice chairman of the PDP in the South-West, said it was funny that Fayemi accused him of over-payment for the Ado-Iworoko-Ifaki Road. He said the same administration had jerked up a contract for the same road with N3bn. According to him, the White Paper issued by the government is already being challenged by him in court. Oni also said Fayemi’s administration had already dragged those who stood as mentors for the micro-credit beneficiaries to court. He wondered why he was still bent on another probe. To cover corrupt practices will be a crime against the people and the state. However, many in the state believe that a probe of Oni’s administration at this time could be counter-productive, except where concrete evidence exists as identified in the White Paper. For instance, the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, cautioned Fayemi against going ahead with the probe. Bamidele argued that going ahead with the probe would serve as a needless distraction to the ACN administration. He said in a statement, “I equally call on His Excellency, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to jettison the idea of instituting a probe into the programmes and activities of the Oni administration. “Tempting as this might sound; it will be much more distracting than even the law suit.” The lawmaker said Ekiti politics in the last decade had been characterised by vindictiveness and retaliatory policies and attitudes that have forced the state to go round in circles.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:34:54 +0000
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