Executive Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose on Monday, November 2, restated that Nigerians will not tolerate a military dictatorship from President Muhammadu Buhari since the country runs a constitutional democracy that allows citizens to speak their minds on national issues.
Fayose who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka said the statement credited to the President’s Spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu warning the Governor against speaking on the running of the economy by the Federal Government was tantamount to dictatorial mentality.
He added that he was not one of those that will run and hide because of Buhari’s selective “political persecution.”
The Presidency had earlier warned Fayose, to stop making unsubstantiated allegations pertaining to the running of the economy by the Federal Government.
Specifically, the Presidency said Fayose’s comment on the September Federal allocation of N389 billion was reckless and typical of his past unguarded outbursts.
Shehu, who sounded the Presidency’s warning, was reacting to remarks made by the Governor at the recent graduation ceremony of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, in which he asked Buhari to come clean and disclose the true state of the Nigerian economy.
“Records obtained from the Ministry of Finance show that the decline in federally collected revenues shared by the three tiers didn’t just set in but had become clearly manifest under the PDP administration.
“In February, N480bn was distributed. In March it was N459bn; April, N385bn; May, N357bn; June N389bn, and July, N526bn. In August, N499bn was paid out; September, N412bn and N374 in October,” was Shehu’s retort.
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti the Governor’s aide declared that it was sad for the Presidency to be warning a Nigerian, who is heading one of the country’s federating units on what to say and what not to say.
Olayinka, while observing that Shehu must have spoken for himself, and not Buhari, asserted that “Governor Fayose will continue to say the truth in the interest of Nigeria and its people because the Governor is not one of those that will go underground because of political persecution.”
He maintained that the country’s economy was in serious recession, adding; “the President himself attested to this when he said that the country was broke and this has also been corroborated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group financial report, indicating that the corporation incurred a total loss of N120.07bn in the months of August and September.
“JP Morgan is also removing Nigeria from its Emerging Market Bond Index, a move analysts say would have far reaching implications for the country’s dwindling economy as investors could move their funds to competing countries, resulting in higher lending rates.
“It is therefore a sad reminder of the military era that in a democracy, under a federation in which all federating units enjoy some degree of autonomy, the Presidency is warning a State Governor on what to say and what not to say.
“Top functionaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including State Governors criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, the Presidency did not go about warning them.”
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