I Don’t Want To Comment On My Burnt SUV —Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has declined comments on his Special Utility Vehicle that got burnt in Lagos.

Fayose, who addressed newsmen in Ado Ekiti, deflected the question as soon as it was asked, saying he would not want to comment on the incident.

“I don’t want to comment on that,” Fayose said dismissively when asked during the distribution of funds to communities in the state for development projects.

The cheque distribution was done through the Ekiti State Community Development Agency (EKCIDA) in partnership with the World Bank.

The Mercedes Benz SUV G-Wagon got burnt at Oshodi in Lagos on Wednesday although the governor was said not to be travelling in the vehicle.

At the event, where a total of N94.08 million were distributed to the communities from 11 of the 16 local government areas of the state, Fayose told the community leaders and the people that he would miss them when he had completed his tenure as the governor of the state next year.

“I will miss Ekiti people so dearly, because I have been used to them. I love finding myself in their midst and this is what I will miss sorely,” Fayose said.

“Do you know that I have not entered my office in the governor’s office in the last one year. I have always been with the people on the streets to fraternize with them and that is the essence of leadership.

“No governor must rate himself higher than the people that elected him. Here in Ekiti, the people live mostly in the rural areas and they are not Lagos people but rural. So we must interact with them and come to their level. That is why you must support continuity project. That is why you must vote for Professor Olusola.”

He however said when his deputy, Professor Olusola had taken over government and is doing well, his feeling would be assuaged,

Fayose pointed out that the people will benefit more when they have a governor they can easily access and control.

Speaking on the money distributed to the communities, the governor said their projects, which would be done in phases, were those the communities could not undertake on their own.

“Our aim is to ensure that all the 133 communities benefit from this programme. All they need to do is to pay the 10 per cent counterpart funding and they can access the fund for community development,” the governor explained.

He then appealed to the committees set up by each community to use the money judiciously in their overall interest.

The Chairman ,Ekiti Council of Traditional Rulers and Oloye of Oye Ekiti, Oba Oluwole Ademolaju and the Olojudo of Ido Ile, Oba Obaremi Adeleye, commended the governor for his grassroots and participatory approach to governance.

Oba Ademolaju said: “This is not about a king playing politics, but about laying the facts bare. Governor Fayose is accessible. He is a man of the people and that is why we must support him to be able to give a good successor that Ekiti can be proud of.

“How many governors in Nigeria can choose their deputies as successors even when they always see each other as enemies? Governor Fayose choosing his deputy to succeed him is commendable and he must be backed by people because it shows that the team we are having is good”.

The monarchs told the benefiting communities to spend the funds on projects that would be of tremendous benefits to the people.