Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has said that he does not drive bullet-proof cars because he has no reason to be scared of his people.
In a series of tweets posted on Sunday, the governor said he relied solely on Ekiti people that he, according to him, serves diligently to protect him.
“I don’t drive bullet-proof cars. When you are doing the will of the people, there is no need to be scared. When you are in tune with the people, they will protect you. They will stand up for you,” he noted.
Fayose claimed that he managed the finances of the state in a transparent manner, saying he showed documents of the state’s allocations from the Federation Account to the workers after which he disbursed it.
He tweeted, “I go to the radio and television to reveal to the people what we have and how we are going to share it. I call all the workers together whenever money comes and I present the documents to them. I tell them ‘This is all the money.’’
“I left over N10.4bn in the coffer of Ekiti. But I came back to meet debts running to almost N80 billion.”
The governor, who recently survived an impeachment move, boasted that there was no future election in Ekiti he would not have a determining influence on, even if he was no more the governor, because he had won the hearts of ordinary people.
“When you reach out to ordinary people, they do not have an opportunity to come to say, ‘Thank you.’ They will keep their appreciation for a payback date.
“If you look at the process of the botched impeachment, what happened later was a defence put up by the people,” Fayose said.
The governor said he would not advise his colleagues, many of who, he claimed, were carrying huge debt burdens, on how they could tackle the current financial challenge.
Describing Ekiti as his “business”, he urged each state executive to face his challenge.
The governor said he would cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari, whose electoral success he attributed to the “grace of God.
Fayose admitted that he performed better during his first tenure at the Ekiti government house than he was currently doing. He, however, said his efforts were constrained by paucity of funds.
Fayose had earlier launched an attack on President Mohammau Buhari, urging him to fight the Boko Haram fighters instead of the opposition PDP members with “a house arrest.”
He was referring to the recent raid of the home of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.).
But by the recent tweets, Fayose might have exposed himself to a fresh social media backlash.
Responding on @Mansur410 on Sunday, one Mansur Ibrahim wondered why the governor had not mentioned any capital project he was executing with the state’s resources.
“You just share the money in Ekiti State? How many ongoing capital projects have you commenced since you assumed office?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Shehu Sani, a member of the Senate, said the President’s visit to the United States would reactivate the country’s bilateral relationship with Nigeria.
Sani, a former human rights activist, said Nigeria needed the US for economic and security interest, adding that Buhari’s meeting with President Barack Obama would benefit both countries.
“We need the US for our economic and security interest. And the US needs us for its strategic interest. Buhari’s Washington visit will help to reset and reactivate Nigeria’s relationship with the US as well as explore areas of mutual interest,” he noted.
The Senator said he had the right to respond to the controversy surrounding the journey just as the opposition could criticise it.
The official trip dominated discussions on social media in the past three days, with critics and supporters of the President debating, especially on the number of people that travelled with him.
Source: Punch
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