Former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday, debunked reports that he ran the economy of his state aground, while he served as governor.
Fayemi, one of the 10 ministerial nominees screened by the Senate today, said he governed Ekiti with transparency and accountability.
Responding to a question asked him by Sen. Olusola Adeyeye (APC Osun Central) to clarify newspaper reports that he left Ekiti in debt, after spending too much money on the Ekiti Govt House, Fayemi said they were all rumours, stating that the government house was built with just N2.5 billion.
The ex-governor said being one of the youngest states in Nigeria, without a government house for 19 years, the magnificent Government House he saw in Akwa Ibom, when he visited former Governor Godswill Akpabio, enticed him to embark on the project to give Ekiti State, a befitting Government House.
Fayemi added that the controversial N50 million bed in the government house wasn’t purchased at that price.
According to him, none of the beds in the government house cost above N1.5 million.
He was also asked what he had to say about the challenges in the nation’s education system of which he noted that enrolment, particularly in the North was still a problem bedeviling the sector.
He stated that the National Universities Commission, NUC, cannot regulate and operate at the same time, adding that, “We need to look at our curriculum, we need to look at teachers’ quality. We need to make public education attractive.”
He was also tasked on what he feels can be done about reforms in the nation’s foreign policy, poverty eradication, revenue generation for the government and his plans for the security of the nation. Fayemi, however, wowed the Senators with his wealth of experience as he answered their questions chronologically.
At the end of the rigorous screening, which lasted for about 50 minutes by the Senate to be confirmed as Minister, the former governor was asked to take a bow.
Credit: Vanguard
