— –Lashes At Oyebanji Over Misappropriation Of State Funds
A Former Ado Ekiti local government chairman and a member of the Ekiti Liberation Agenda (ELA), a political organisation fighting for the rights of the citizens, Honorable Omotunde Fajuyi, has said, the ruling party in the state, APC, is just taking every citizen for granted with their conducts and the way they manipulated the results of the just concluded primaries in the state.
The former chairman raised concerns over what she described as growing political tension in Ekiti State, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and relevant authorities to act in the interest of democracy and development.
Speaking at a press conference in Ado-Ekiti, Fajuyi said Ekiti is experiencing the worst government since the creation of the state in 1996. She noted that the state had not experienced this level of hardship and stagnation currently facing the state despite increased financial allocations. “We had about the terrible stories of how our money was being taken to negotiate things so that, there won’t be a contest.” Omotunde said.
She said Ekiti people should forget about the lies and misinterpretation of many things going on in the state by the ruling party saying, the true picture that is open to everyone is that of gross misappropriation of funds, abuse and misuse of power which has brought the state backward and the people have never had it so bad.
“What has been accruing to Ekiti since inception of this present government has doubled what has accrued to Ekiti since inception and creation of the state and what do we have to show for it?. While I am here is, politics is suppose to be harbinger of development and when it is being played in such a way that it will not encourage people, then, where do we go from there?.
“Of recent, the ruling party disqualified one of our sons and our daughter in persons of Kayode Ojo and Jumoke Olawumi and no reasons were given for the disqualification, nobody does that in a democratic setting. The ruling party is just taking everybody for granted, I was a member of APC, I contested for the post of chairman which I won. But before then, I always complained that the party has issues.” She said.
She argued that politics should serve as a catalyst for development, warning that actions that undermine credible leadership choices could further stall the state’s progress. She said the present leader of the party in the state was forced on the people by some leaders wish was not supposed to be so and that is the first error committed by the party leaders.
Fajuyi specifically faulted the omission of Dr. Wole Oluyede’s name from the ONCE published list, alleging that no clear reasons were given. She described the aspirants as qualified and successful professional, adding that the manner of the omission of his name raised questions yet to be answered by INEC. “You don’t just disqualify the best of our people without explanation,” she said.
The ELA representative who expressed concern over INEC’s omission of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate from the published list, despite the primary was certified “free and fair” said information gathered revealed that external influence was being exerted on INEC, a claim she stressed was based on information available to her group.
“Ekiti is not a doormat State and should not be treated as one,” Fajuyi declared.
She maintained that her intervention was not partisan, noting that she no longer belonged to any political party. “This is beyond APC, PDP or any other party. It is an Ekiti issue,” she said, adding that leadership choices should be based on competence rather than political imposition.
Responding to questions on the timing of the intervention and the INEC timetable for party substitution, Fajuyi said the matter has already been filed before the courts and expressed confidence that due process would prevail.
Fajuyi appealed to President Bola Tinubu and other national stakeholders to take cognisance of developments in Ekiti State, warning that continued silence could undermine public confidence in democratic institutions in the state. “We will not resort to violence, but we will continue to speak out,” she said, insisting that Ekiti deserved fairness, transparency and genuine development.
