How APC shared N2.6b secondary school intervention fund in Ekiti – PDP

The Ekiti State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that the immediate past government of the All Progressives Congress in the state shared N2.6 billion meant for the building of classrooms for secondary schools in the state among its members.

The party reiterated its call to anti-corruption agencies to investigate the wanton looting of the state treasury by the immediate past APC government.

It disclosed that no fewer than five petitions are with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission against former Governor Kayode Fayemi and other top functionaries of the APC, who ran the government with him.

A statement by the state Publicity Secretary of PDP, Jackson Adebayo, said the APC government transferred the federal grants for the building of blocks of classrooms in secondary schools in the state to the party in an apparent motive to shortchange the state.

Adebayo explained that N3 billion was made available for the state government to build blocks of classrooms for all the secondary schools in the state by the former Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP government at the federal level.

While challenging the APC to come out with the details of how the projects were executed, Adebayo maintained that no building was ever put in place throughout the four year the APC was in government of Ekiti State.

He explained that instead of building classrooms as stipulated by the Federal Government, Fayemi decided to renovate the existing blocks at the cost of building new ones in other to perfect the diversion of the funds meant for the project to the party for sharing among members at different levels in the state.

According to him, at the close of works on the projects, the APC was able to raised about N3 billion from the Federal Government Education intervention fund for sharing among its members.

Adebayo said: “We challenge the leadership of APC in the state to clear air on the details of the project so as to afford the people of the opportunity to judge between the truth and perpetual falsehood.”

The PDP spokesman explained that majority of the members of the party who shared from the money did not know the source of the money until Fayemi left government and some members started fighting over the left over.

Meanwhile, the Ekiti State government has reacted to claim by the APC that Governor Ayodele Fayose was planning to commercialise basic education in the state, saying: “APC government of Dr Kayode Fayemi killed education in the State and the Fayose-led Peoples Democratic Party government is trying all that it could to restore the lost glory of the State in the education sector.”

The Special Assistant to the governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, in a statement on Sunday refuted the APC’s claim, emphasizing that the government had no plan to commercialise basic education in the state.

The government said it was insulting for the APC to have made reference to the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, saying: “The APC does not stand for one single ideal of Awolowo. Or would Awolowo have scrapped functional universities in preference for N3.3bn hilltop governor’s lodge as done by the APC government of Fayemi?”

The statement reads in part: “The 1999 constitution of Nigeria guarantees Free Universal Basic Education from primary school to JSS 3. That is a law that no government can contravene.

“However, does the APC as a party have moral rights to speak on education?

“Here is a party, whose government scrapped universities under the excuse that the State could not fund more than one university, but the same government could use borrowed funds to build N3.3bn governor’s lodge, civic centre, state pavilion and other irrelevant projects.

“Shouldn’t these characters in the APC be ashamed for once, show remorse for destroying the economy of Ekiti State and stop this persistent advertisement of their idiocy?”