Ekiti State Government will use whatever it has so far got from the Education Levy to rehabilitate schools across the three senatorial districts soon, the State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has said.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi, the stated this at a meeting with tipper drivers and suppliers at the Government House.
“The state government will soon make public what has so far been raised through the Education Levy and then we will embark on the rehabilitation of schools across the three senatorial districts of the state. We have been transparent in the handling of the finances of the state and that is why we are calling for more support and understanding from our people.
“There is economic recession in the country and that calls for prudent management of resources. The Education Levy was part of the outcome of the Education Summit we held last year. It is like the N500 you people are paying on a tipper-load of sand that we all agreed to.
“You can see that we have worked on Ado-Afao Road, a major axis where you people get your sand. Though, some people want to sabotage our revenue-generation effort by printing fake receipts, we are evolving strategies to block loopholes. Anybody caught engaging in fraudulent act will be seriously dealt with,” he said.
The governor, who used the occasion to comment on the strike embarked upon by civil servants in the state, said all stakeholders must understand the tough economic climate in the country now.
Fayose noted that those accusing state governors of not been creative enough in raising internally-generated revenue were unfair.
He opined that there was a limit to which government could squeeze money from people already pushed to the wall by harsh economic conditions and likened it to trying to get water out of tissue paper.
