The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Right honourable (Pastor) Kola Oluwawole, has said that former governor of the state, Kayode Fayemi, may still be summoned to clarify issues on the allegedly misappropriated counterpart fund of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) fund under his government, despite responding to the first summons of the House via a letter.
As explained in a statement issued by Oluwawole’s Special Assistant (Media), Stephen Gbadamosi, in Ado-Ekiti, the State capital, on Tuesday, the Speaker gave the clarification while answering questions from journalists shortly after an obituary session of the House held in honour of a Third Assembly member of the House, Honourable Ajewole Asaolu.
Earlier, before the special session, the Speaker had read the letter written by the former governor in response to a resolution of the House mandating him (Fayemi) to appear before the Assembly on Tuesday, March 22, to shed light on the misappropriated fund which has made it impossible for the state to access SUBEB funds like its counterparts since the assumption of t he Ayodele Fayose-led succeeding government.
“You will recall that during our last sitting, we invited the immediate-past governor of the state, Mr Kayode Fayemi to come and explain how the government he led managed or mismanaged the missing SUBEB counterpart fund.
“We expected him to appear today, but he did not show up. He, instead, responded through a letter, saying that he wouldn’t be able to come owning to certain official duties. He said his stewardship was detailed in the handing over note he presented to the current governor, Mr Ayo Fayose; and that the issue of the SUBEB fund was also in it.
“He added that a copy of the note was made available to this House before we came on board and the Clerk of the House corroborated that claim. So, we have forwarded the letter to the House Committee on Public Account and that on Finance and Appropriation to scrutinise the facts said to be contained in the note.
“That is because the people of Ekiti State will like to know how he spent the money. Right now, Ekiti schools and our pupils are suffering because he failed to pay the SUBEB counterpart fund. That is why the state has not been able to access the funds like other states right now.
“So, the committees will look into the letter and ascertain where the details on the SUBEB fund issue are contained in the handing over note. It is then that we will know the next step to be taken. Thank God the tone of the former governor’s letter has it that he would be willing to come when next he is called upon. I believe that is what the tone of the letter meant,” Oluwawole said.
Earlier, during the session, members of the Assembly, both past and present, took out time to eulogise the late Honourable Ajewole, who represented Ekiti South-West I constituency, Ilawe-Ekiti, between 2007 and 2011, during the Third Assembly.
