The All Progressives Congress (APC) has berated Governor Ayodele Fayose for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari over proposal to the National Assembly requesting for emergency powers to stimulate the economy.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti by Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party regretted that the governor has not purged himself of reckless display of ignorance on matters that are taken for granted among the average educated Nigerians.
Noting that the governor’s abberant conduct was a blot on leadership integrity in modern democratic governance, Olatunbosun regretted that “once again, Fayose is embarrassing Ekiti people noted for knowledge and scholarship”.
Expressing shock that the governor misunderstood emergency powers sought by Buhari as authority to act without recourse to the law to do anything, including sacking him from office, the party noted that Fayose was afraid of his shadow because of the strings of illegality in which he had involved himself.
“It is shocking that a governor in Nigeria could display such ignorance on the meaning of emergency powers on the economy when such has always been part of mechanisms to fix the economy while in trouble.
“Former Heads of State and Presidents in successive administrations applied the same principle as a measure to stimulate the economy through massive allocations to capital expenditure to stimulate production for export and jobs creation.
“President Shehu Shagari did it in 1982 when he sought emergency powers to revamp the economy through ‘Economic Stabilisation (Temporary Privisional) Act 1982 while Gen Ibrahim Babangida applied same law for 15 months leading to the sadly misapplied Structural Adjustment Programme.
“It is the same principle that is driving the latest budgettng adjustment mechanism called Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) as a measure to break administrative bottlenecks to enhance service delivery and production.
“Sadly, Fayose does not understand this modern principle because he doesn’t bother to know, as his mission in government is to help himself and not any understanding of economic principle for the development of the state,” he explained.
He added: “Only three days ago, he shocked Nigerians when he displaced another ignorance, saying that he never knew that History as a subject in Nigeria’s schools has been removed from the syllabus 10 years ago, even as this was the time he was a governor during his first term.
“Early this year, Fayose repeatedly said in a media interview that he was ‘impeachable’ when he meant to say ‘I am unimpeachable” to the shock of the reporter,”
Stressing that emergency power is legal and democratic, Olatunbosun said it was a modern instrument to run troubled economies in democratic countries to stimulate growth.
He counselled Fayose to keep quiet if he doesn’t understand an issue instead of embarrassing himself and by extension Ekiti people as an uninformed and notorious talkative governor, who could not differentiate good from bad as long as his interests were served.
He said: “Fayose at this year’s Udiroko Festival in Ado-Ekiti said Ekiti people will remember him forever.
“Yes, we agree with him, but Ekiti people will remember him for the wrong reasons, including contributing in throwing Ekiti values of hard work, integrity and honesty to the dogs, political violence and lawlessness in administrative style with emphasis on Machiavelians dictum of the end justifies the means.”
“Of course Ekiti people will also remember him for the diversion of public funds for his personal use as revealed daily by the EFCC”
Olatunbosun urged Nigerians to bear with Ekiti people for the embarrassment Fayose is causing the country, noting that the governor did not represent Ekiti values in all his engagements.
