Fayose In Fresh Trouble For Alleged Diversion Of N8.877bn Paris Club Refund

Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, may have run into fresh trouble with the Federal Government after it was found that he collected the sum of N8.877 billion from the N388.304 billion released to 35 states as refunds from over-deductions on London-Paris Club loans but only paid one out of the eight-month salary arrears he owed workers in the state. Fayose was also said to have paid a curious 13th month salary as bonus while the arrears of seven-month salaries owed the workers were left unpaid. A reliable source in the Presidency, who spoke in confidence with one of our correspondents yesterday, said President Muhammadu Buhari has lived up to his pledge to ease salary crises in all the states by releasing N388.304 billion to 35 states but many of the states failed to abide by the agreement they had with the President that they would give preference to settling arrears of workers’ salaries. “Security reports available to the Presidency showed that Governor Ayodele Fayose paid only one month out of eight-month salary arrears. “The same governor went ahead to pay a curious 13-month salary to Ekiti workers. Yet, he got N8.877 billion refund. “Instead of accounting for what he used the loan refund for, he has the temerity to attack the Federal Government on hardship in the country. The relevant agencies are monitoring development in Ekiti and some states.” Reacting to the allegation on the telephone yesterday, Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Toyin Ojo, admitted that the state got N8.8 billion from the Paris Club refunds. But he said that the state’s share of the money was only N5.3 billion, which he said could barely pay one month out of the arrears of salaries owed the civil servants in the state. According to him, the wage bill for a month stands at N5.2 billion. He also said that workers in the local government sector could only get one month from the arrears of salaries owed them. The Nation, January 7, 2017