Ekiti: I Didn’t Create Additional Councils To Cause Fayose Problems, Says Fayemi

Outgoing Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has signed into law a bill creating additional council areas from the existing 16 local governments in the state.

At the signing of the bill yesterday, Fayemi also denied allegations in some quarters that his government created the new councils as a trap for the incoming Peoples Democratic Party-led administration of Mr. Ayo Fayose.

This is just as the matter of the newly created councils is being contested at an Ado Ekiti High Court by the PDP in the state.

According to Fayemi, he created the new councils in fulfilment of his administration’s electioneering promises to the people.

He added that his government would bridge all noticeable gaps in the policy for its expeditious and smooth take off before the expiration of his tenure on October 15, 2014.

He noted that the Assets’ Sharing Committee of the House had visited the affected local governments, adding that the reports are already before him.

“This is a promise fulfilled, following the yearnings of the people. These yearnings predated my coming into government in 2010. The first executive governor of this state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, attempted this policy before the end of his tenure but never came to pass. Despite this, our people never stopped requesting for additional local governments for rapid development and for political independence. With this policy, we are not just making history but we are part of history. We have written our names in the book of history for taking this bold step. And I will do everything within the constitution for effective functioning of these councils before this administration comes to an end”, he said.

He added: “Soon, we will appoint transitional political functionaries that would begin the process of the existence of these councils for rapid development at the grassroots where the bulk of our people live”.

He dismissed PDP’s claim that the policy was a flagrant breach of the 1999 constitution, stressing that all extant constitutional provisions were complied with in arriving at the conclusion of the exercise.

Earlier, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Adewale Omirin, said the legislature decided to key into the policy because of the enormous role the local government system plays in the lives of rural dwellers and overall development of the society.