By WOLE BALOGUN, Ado-Ekiti
Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has declared himself as the best performing governor of the state since its creation in 1996. The governor, who spoke yesterday through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said out of 11 governors and administrators who had governed the state, none has measured up to his performance. He said: “Ekiti was created 20 years ago. It is the only one among the states created at the same time that is yet to have either airport or airstrip. Still, the opposition does not see this as a minus for the state. I don’t know how to play politics with development of the state. To me, Ekiti first. The dirty politics here is responsible for Ekiti having almost 11 governors as opposed to Ebonyi with four since 1996. During my first tenure, the opposition said there was no need to dualise roads in the state capital, everybody is enjoying it today.”
Reeling out his laudable achievements, he added: “My priority is to leave Ekiti better than how I met it. What I did during my first tenure are those visible things in the state today. I may be tough, I may be controversial, but all these are catalysts to my performance. I built the first governor’s office, dualised roads in the state capital, constructed roads in all nooks and crannies of the state, put on ground many structures for use of the state. I always scored the first position in development of the state.”
He, therefore, described those criticizing his style of governance as detractors. “I have transformed the palace of Ewi. There can’t be two palaces. I am building the first flyover. There cannot be need for another flyover in the next 30 years. I am building new king’s market (Oja Oba). There can’t be two king’s market. Dualisation of roads is ongoing in the local government headquarters. My detractors know what I am made off and are disturbed by my landmarks. And that is why they will always concoct lies to distract me or slow me down. I am not a rookie, I am a second term governor, very experienced and learned in grassroots politics. If it is not photocromic, it is soldier used to rig. If
it is not Dasuki money today, perhaps tomorrow they will fabricate many unimaginable lies. They said building flyover is a waste, how many vehicles ply Ekiti roads. Similarly, they criticised my plan to build airport for Ekiti to the extent of poisoning the minds of the land owners against our good intention,” he lamented. Fayose berated his immediate predecessor, Kayode Fayemi, for his low performance, adding that he left the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBED) worse than he met it and that Fayemi had only three achievements to his credit. He made these submissions preparatory to the 20th anniversary of the state coming up on October 1.
. Rating the performance of the administration, the governor said Fayemi had only three achievements to his credit in four years. These, according to him, included: the new government House, dismissed as elephant project, the uncompleted civic centre and uncompleted state Pavilion. The Pavilion project, he said, gulped huge state resources without any concrete use for the people.