Tag Archives: Ayodele Fayose

Fayose paid N75m into Ozekhome’s account from N1.2bn Dasuki’s funds – EFCC

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The EFCC on Wednesday told a Federal High Court in Lagos that Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, made a payment of N75 million to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, from the N1.2 billion the governor received from a former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it froze Ozekhome’s account because the money was suspected to be proceeds of crime. Ozekhome had urged Justice Abdullazeez Anka to unfreeze his firm’s account which the court ordered at EFCC’s instance on Feb. 7.

Opposing the application, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, argued that Ozekhome ought to have reasonably known that the money he received as part payment for legal fees was proceeds of “fraudulent activities”.

He said: “EFCC received an intelligence showing that one Mr Ayodele Fayose received N1.2 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) through the then Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro.”

He said Obanikoro conveyed the money in an aircraft to Akure airport for delivery to Fayose in neighbouring Ekiti. Oyedepo said it was investigated and it was discovered that the sum of N137 million was paid into an account no. 1003126654 operated by Fayose on June 26, 2014.

“On August 22 and 27, 2014, the sum of N50 million and N118 million was also credited to the account.” Oyedepo said having discovered that the funds were proceeds of crime, EFCC approached Justice Mohammed Idris of Lagos division for an order to freeze the account pending conclusion of investigations.

The lawyer said that the order by Justice Idris was not appealed by either Fayose or the bank where the money was lodged. “The N75 million is from the proceeds of the alleged crime fraudulently taken from the ONSA and kept in Fayose’s account from where it was transferred to Ozekhome. “ EFCC is empowered to freeze any money suspected to be proceeds of crime even if it is not in possession of the person committing the unlawful act.”

He argued that nothing had been showed to contradict the fact that the money came from ONSA, adding that Ozekhome could not also claim not to know the source of the money. Arguing his application to unfreeze the account, Ozekhome said it was not a lawyer’s duty to investigate the source of his legal fees. Besides, he said as at the time Fayose paid him the money, the governor’s account had been unfrozen by an order made by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Ekiti Division of the court on Dec. 13. 2016.

He said that the judge on Jan. 31 also refused EFCC’s application to stay execution of the judgment of Dec. 13, 2016. Ozekhome said EFCC obtained the order freezing his account 47 days after Fayose transferred the N75 million. “The account frozen by Justice Idris had been unfrozen by Justice Taiwo and made operational after it was found that material facts were suppressed,” he said.

The Senior Advocate said that the N75 million was part payment for the professional fees having handled eight cases for Fayose and his aides.

He said that the total sum owed his chambers by Fayose was N250 million and that he wrote Fayose demanding payment of the fees, and that the governor sought for his understanding because his account was frozen.

He also said when Justice Taiwo unfroze Fayose’s account, he (Ozekhome) sent the governor a reminder to pay the money after which he made the N75 million.

“There was no encumbrance on the account from which the money was transferred,” Ozekhome said, recalling that the bank in Ekiti also allowed Fayose to withdraw N5 million in cash from the account.

He said it was wrong for the EFCC to conclude that the money was a proceed of crime when Fayose, who enjoys immunity as a sitting governor had not been tried or convicted. Justice Anka fixed April 3 for ruling.

Shelve Strike To Allow Dialogue, Fayose Tells Ekiti Workers

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Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, has urged workers in the state to call off their strike to allow for dialogue.

 

The governor stated that in the meantime, the salary for local government workers is ready for payment, while the little resources that have come to the state are ready for sharing but this cannot be done because civil servants who are on strike have critical roles to play in the disbursement of the funds.

 

The governor noted that until the workers resume, nothing can be done. Governor Fayose said this yesterday in Ado-Ekiti through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi. Fayose, who expressed sympathy with the striking workers and the inconveniences the current financial situation in the country is causing them, said that the financial condition of the country might not get better soon. While saying that the issue of irregular payment of workers was not limited  to Ekiti, the governor urged the workers to note that the country was in a recession and that the state depends much on statutory allocations.

 

He said he had foreseen the current situation which made him to be transparent in the handling of finances of the state and had always put all the cards on the table for labour leaders and others to see. “I have not hidden anything from the labour leaders and what our dear state is experiencing now has been aggravated by the mindless borrowings of the immediate past administration in the state. The state is paying about N1 billion monthly to service the bond and the commercial loans they took. If that did not happen, we would have had such money to add to our monthly allocations.

Credit: Vanguard

Fayose Flags Off N5.7bn Flyover In Ekiti, Vows Not To Abandon Any Project

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Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, on Tuesday flagged off the construction of N5.7 billion worth 1.2 kilometres flyover in Ado Ekiti, with a promise that all projects awarded by his government will be completed before the expiration of his tenure.

 

Speaking while flagging off of the project in Ado Ekiti, Fayose said the project will be delivered within 24 months.
Fayose, who described the project as the first of its kind in the state, which forms part of his efforts to decongest Ado Ekiti metropolis for effective traffic orderliness, said the flyover will begin at Fajuyi area and terminate at Ojumose.

 

He warned the contractor against unnecessary delay, saying the project must be delivered within the stipulated time.

 

“This was a project that has been my heart desire during my first term. I nearly awarded it before that unfortunate incident happened. I saw it as a landmark achievement because you can’t get it in Ondo or Osun State.

 

“I have promised that I won’t abandon any project for my successor. I shall complete every project that I awarded, because I don’t want to leave any burden behind.
“Whatever we do will remain in our name, particularly the physical project and that is why I charge the traditional rulers to appeal to politicians to give peace a chance, because it is only under an atmosphere of peace that you can witness development.

“I am not going to limit physical construction to road alone, I will soon flag off the construction of ultra-modern High Court complex with modern facilities for effective and efficient administration of justice.

“Some of you will ask me how am I going to achieve this in view of the poor allocations to the state, but don’t worry, don’t be hopeless.

“I rely on the little taxes and rates to be paid by citizens to be able to boost our IGR to do all these. With your supports, all these shall be achieved”, he said.

The Chairman, Ekiti State Council of traditional rulers, Oba Samuel Adedapo and the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo, who praised the governor for his zeal to develop Ekiti, appealed to politicians to give peace a chance to forestall unnecessary crisis that could cause distraction.

They said Ekiti will continue to appreciate the efforts of governor Fayose to develop the state in spite of the parlous state of the economy.

 

Credit : Daily Post

2015 Election: PDP Fielding Jonathan Was A Big Mistake — Fayose

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Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, weekend, described the fielding of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last election as a miscalculation by the party.

 

This came as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara also, yesterday, declared that the Boko Haram insurgency would have destroyed Nigeria, if the former President had remained in power, asserting that the defeat of the PDP administration saved the nation from imminent collapse.

 

Fayose, who disclosed this in an interview, said the defeat could have been averted had the party fielded a northern candidate.

He said: “We lost the election because we did not pick our candidate from the north, not because Jonathan as a person was bad. It was just a political miscalculation. The fact is that my former President, I chose my word, my former President, Goodluck Jonathan, tried his best. Ayodele Fayose “But if I were him, I would not have contested at all, you understand? Because it is two ways: If he did not contest and the PDP lost out, he will still be an honourable man, and if he had given that opportunity to the north, those who defected from the PDP would not have defected. “But that is story. Jonathan did his best and I will still continue to support him. You know I was not there when they took the decision about him becoming the flag-bearer, but it doesn’t matter. We can’t all put our mouth inside the soil. Somebody must remain with somebody. I will remain with Jonathan, even if I am the only man standing. “A man is not measured by the amount of food he has and the amount of properties he owns. Sometimes sickness is good, it reshapes your life. Sometimes poverty is good, it helps your life. Sometimes failure makes you to reorder your life. It is not the end of your life.”

 

On what would become of PDP, in view of 2019 elections, Governor Fayose said though the party was going through challenges at the moment, it could still come out of its present challenge before the next round of elections. “Let me explain something to you. When you have an accident, God forbid, you don’t gather momentum immediately. Life is physical, it is normal. What the PDP is going through now is a deliberate effort to destabilize the opposition by the APC and we know that.”

 

On whether he had his eyes on the Presidency in 2019, Fayose said: “For which country? Nigeria? Well, I don’t have such an ambition but I know I am going higher. Mark my words, I have said 20 things that will happen in Nigeria and more than seven have come to pass. Check the records.”

 

On the role played by soldiers in Ekiti and Osun elections, the governor said: “My own is that I have gone through an election. I have won an election. There is a place the law says you can ventilate your displeasure. They have gone to the lower court, the appeal court and the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court has given judgment in my favour. They have become functus officio. They cannot approbate and reprobate on the matter anymore. The election matters are Suris generis. They operate within the ambit of time.

 

“The military was represented by a lawyer and the police was represented by a lawyer. This one is an afterthought. During the National Assembly election, how did I win all the seats? “Two weeks after the House of Assembly election, I won everything, 26-26. Is it the military again? When the male friend of your mother is more powerful than your father, you call him daddy. You welcome him and take his bag. “Let them take my bag and accept this Ekiti matter. This Bayelsa election we just finished, 14 people died, how many people died in Ekiti? If you see my prediction about Nigeria under Buhari, I said every effort to forcefully take the South-South states will result in a huge loss of lives. “They should leave me alone. They should face governance. God has given me this place. No amount of powers will take this place from me because the gift of God is without repentance. How can only me defeat three governors – Segun Oni, Adebayo and Fayemi. I defeated them and they are still complaining.”

 

 

Credit: Vanguard

Ekiti Farmers Protest Fayose’s Airport Project Site

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Farm owners in Aso-Ayegunle in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday staged a protest against the 4,000 hectares of land earmarked for the building of the proposed Ekiti Airport by Governor Ayodele Fayose.

 

 

The farmers, who berated the state government for destroying their crops, also accused the state government of not compensating them since initiating the project.

 

 

They described the destruction of their cocoa trees and other valuable crops by government without prior notice ‘as “wicked and callous.”

Asking the government to relocate the airport project to the state forest reserve, they alleged that some of their members had died from shock because of the government’s insensitivity to their plight.

 

 

But the Commissioner for Information, Lanre Ogunsuyi, said the government had no plan to relocate the airport, saying all land in the state belong to government.

 

 

He said, “The project was conceived a long time ago. That land belongs to the state government. Some people are just willing to throw spanner in the wheel of progress, but we would ensure the project is a success.

 

 

“The aggrieved people have avenues for channelling their grievances. We don’t have to hold a meeting and turn anyone into a thin god in the process. If anybody wants to speak with government, there are 14 ministries they can go to.

 

 

“We have a tradition of paying compensation and we would do that. But there is no way government would surrender its power to some people. The land belongs to the government.”

 

 

The spokesman for the farmers, Mr. Ojo Awe, called on the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, to speak with all relevant authorities to stop the airport project.

 

 

Faulting the state government over its action, Awe argued that the Land Decree of 1976 empowering the government to appropriate land for overriding public interest still mandates that there should be a dialogue with owners before implementation.

 

 

Credit : Punch

Fayose, Ciroma Give Reasons For Shunning PDP National Conference

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Giving reason for his absence at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Conference which held yesterday, November 12 in Abuja, Governor Fayose of Ekiti State said he was observing three days of fasting and prayers ahead of his 55th birthday this weekend and so he excused himself from the conference.

 

Speaking with newsmen at his Afao Ekiti country home, shortly after he was conferred with the title of ‘Leader of opposition in the country’ by the state House of Assembly, he said he needed time to be with God and must abstain from all distractions.

 

“Some of my commissioners were there and the chairman of my party wass also there. I may not be there physically but I am with them morally and I supported them financially,” he added.

 

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held its national conference yesterday, November 12 in Abuja and a number of the party’s chieftains were absent.

 

The conference was part of efforts being made by the party to re-brand and preposition ahead of the 2019 general elections, Daily Trust reports.

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Those who were absent include; former President Goodluck Jonathan, his deputy Namadi Sambo, erstwhile national chairman of the party Adamu Mu’azu, former Senate President David Mark, a PDP founding member Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, among others.

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On his part, Ciroma who was listed among the dignitaries to grace the conference said he was not informed of the meeting early.

 

He said: “I saw the advertisement in the paper and television. It was only yesterday (Wednesday) that some people came to formally invite me and I turned down the invitation because they didn’t do it before the advertisement. They should consult me before making any advertisement.”

 

 

Governors who failed to attend the conference included: Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Ben Ayade (Cross River), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers).

 

Chief Alex Ekwueme, former Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman, Chief Tony Anenih and former Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu were also absent.

 

Those present were; governors Darius Ishaku (Taraba), Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe), Idris Wada (Kogi), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom) and Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo).

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Former governors Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Senate minority leader Godswill Akpabio, were also present.

 

Earlier, Ibrahim Babangida, a former military president turned down an invitation by the PDP for the re-branding conference. His reason being that he had quit partisan politics, adding that he would continue to offer his wise counsel to all politicians towards building a better Nigeria.

 

Speaking at the conference, Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy president of the Senate, who was the chairman of the conference expressed concern that so far no campaign promise made by the present APC administration has been kept.

 

Source:: naij.com

APC blasts Fayose: Your blackmail of judiciary won’t save PDP from defeat in Akwa Ibom

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The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the comments credited to Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, accusing the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari of meddling in the judicial process as false, rascally inspired and maliciously intended.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Engr Ita Awak, the party said “contrary to the hypocritical posturing of Fayose, it is the PDP and Senator Godswill Akpabio’s puppet regime in Akwa Ibom that should be accused of unwholesomely meddling in the affairs of the tribunals, judging by all that has played out so far in both the National Assembly and State House of Assembly and the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election Petition tribunals.”
The party added that “no averagely intelligent person can conclude that the judgment handed down by the Justice Sadiq Umar-led panel is in favour of the APC in Akwa Ibom as the party’s prayer was for total annulment of the violent, irregular and unacceptably fraudulent governorship election of April 11, 2015.
“We have been compelled to make the above assertion for the following reasons: Long before the Akwa Ibom State National Assembly and State House of Assembly Tribunals started reading out their final judgements on petitions brought by APC candidates, high ranking officers of both the Udom interregnum and the PDP had confided in and assured their supporters that the N10 billion loan that Udom hurriedly got weeks ago was for the purpose of “settling” all the election panels for Akwa Ibom State,” the party alleged.
The party added: “The PDP chiefs and government officials also assured their aides and followers that because of this uncommon “settlement,” all the tribunals in charge of Akwa Ibom petitions were going to invent reasons to jettison the “card reader” reports so as to justify the fraudulent votes that the INEC officials in Uyo awarded in favour PDP candidates.
“It is a fact that chieftains of Akwa Ibom PDP and government knew the date Justice Sadiq Umar-led panel will deliver judgement on the governorship election one whole week earlier and went into massive mobilisation of its members and giving them uniforms they were to wear in celebration of the verdict,” the APC said.
The party expressed dismay that the Secretary of the Governorship Tribunal only “told APC lawyers of the Wednesday date fixed for judgment at about 1:00 pm on Tuesday and a day to the judgment.”
“Very importantly, members of Akwa Ibom PDP already knew by Monday, clear two days to the day judgment was read, that the governorship election will be cancelled in a few local government areas in favour of the PDP and a “rerun” ordered.

 

While the APC in Akwa Ibom State regard our judges in the tribunals in high esteem and have explicit confidence in the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary, we are deeply worried that all the issues that officials of the Udom regime and PDP openly boasted of, bordering on the dangerous compromise of high officers of our judicial system, have interestingly come to pass,” the party said.
The party wondered why Fayose and the PDP will not attack the judiciary when “Justice Anunihu declared that it was legitimate for 205, 519 voters in Akwa Ibom North West senatorial district to cast 444, 505 vote for Godswill Akpabio, when successful accreditation was only 90,618 and failed accreditation stood at 114,901.
“In Akpabio’s judgement which Fayose has decided to turn a blind eye, total inflated accreditation on result sheet was 461,702, unsubstantiated accreditation, 256,183 and over voting, 238,986, in addition to the fact that Akpabio was never a PDP candidate for the Akwa Ibom North West senatorial seat. But no one in the PDP uttered a word against the uncommon judgement,” the party stated.
The party wondered why Fayose “did not raise an alarm when the tribunal ruled that Akpabio’s North East nomination form tendered before the tribunal was a minor error while the Card reader report also tendered by INEC was ruled to have been admitted in error.
“We must state clearly that all attempts to blackmail the judiciary by the likes of Fayose and the drowning PDP will fail. It is obvious that Governor Ayodele Fayose’s utterances on the judgment of the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election Tribunal are borne out of ignorance/mischief.
“We remind Fayose that as one who occupies the office of a governor of a state in Nigeria, he is expected to exhibit excellence in his public utterances.

 

We also call on security agencies in Nigeria and other concerned government institutions and departments to carry out comprehensive investigations into all the claims that the judicial processes involving 2015 election matters in Akwa Ibom State have been compromised and bring to book all culprits to serve as a deterrent to others and restore sanity back to our electoral process.”

 

 

Credit : Vanguard

APC lambasts Fayose over proposed airport project

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The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has described the planned airport project by Governor Ayodele Fayose as a drain pipe to siphon money from Ekiti State treasury.

It said the promotion of elite project, while neglecting initiatives for the growth of local economy for the masses of the agrarian state, was “insensitive, wicked and selfish.”

The party noted that the promoter of the project had no motive other than the “characteristic flight of the state funds” in such capital projects that had little or no hope for the local economy.

The Publicity Secretary of the APC, Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, alleged that the governor had, in a desperate move, embarked on begging and cajoling some first class traditional rulers with mouth-watering offers to support “this wasteful venture.

“Of what economic sense and use is an airport to the economy of Ekiti when the Akure Airport is less than one hour drive to Ado Ekiti? What has been the positive economic impact of the Akure airport on the economy of Ondo State, which has hundreds of big industries compared to Ekiti with none?”

Olatunbosun wondered why the governor could not learn anything on the poor state of Ibadan Airport in that highly industrialised city.

“The Ekiti airport project estimated to cost a whopping N17 billion is the most economically unviable project at this period considering how Fayose daily laments that the state has no money.

“To even think about such a needless and wasteful project has shown Fayose as very insensitive to the plight of the common man in Ekiti.

“A governor that prefers an airport that risks lack of patronage to infrastructure development that will be beneficial to the people is a governor that doesn’t care about the welfare of his people.

“It shows that Fayose can never change his profligate tendencies because this is the same way he embarked on the needless poultry project that gulped N1.3 billion over which he is still standing trial in court,” he said.

The APC spokesman also criticised the tax regime and cancellation of empowerment schemes by the governor, saying they were contrary to the promise he made during electioneering campaigns.

He added that with the state’s lean purse, the airport project would foreclose any hope for infrastructure development.

Only a few days ago, the governor held a meeting with stakeholders involved in the project and those present, including a renowned lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), and a former Aviation Minister, Mr. Tunde Omotoba, urged him to go on with the project.

They opined that at least a standard airstrip should be built in the state to open it up for further economic activities.

Fayose, at different fora, had said his government was committed to the project, promising that the project would be completed before the end of next year.

He said a fund raiser would be held in Lagos, where corporate bodies and individuals would be able to contribute to the project.

-Punch

Ekiti students to pay N1,000 education levy per term

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As part of the decisions arrived at during the recently held Education Summit in Ekiti State, students of public secondary schools are now to contribute a token of N1, 000 per term towards educational development in the State while a sum of N500 proposed for primary school is yet to be approved by the State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose.

 

The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Jide Egunjobi, who made this known in a release issued in Ado-Ekiti Tuesday, said all stakeholders in the education sector, including parents and teachers consented to the introduction of the Education Development Levy.

 

He said: “Before now, secondary school students were paying N100 as PTA levy, N300 for Extra Lesson and N600 as Examination Fee while primary school students were paying N100 as PTA levy, N300 for Extra Lesson and N200 as Examination fee, making N600 per term.”

 

Apart from the Educational Development Levy (EDL) of N1,000, secondary school students will pay N500 as Parents Teachers Association (PTA) levy, N600 for Examination, N300 for Extra Lesson, making N2,400 per term while it is proposed that Primary school students will pay N100 as PTA levy, N100 for Extra Lesson, N100 for Examination, making a total of N800 per term.

 

There are 178,263 students in the 879 public primary schools; 48,960 in Junior Secondary Schools and 55,677 in Senior Secondary Schools in Ekiti State, making a total of 282,900.

 

The Commissioner for Education, who said the levies were not new in the state, added that; “Students of public schools in Ekiti were paying PTA, Examination and Extra Lesson levies before Governor Fayose assumed office.”

 

He reiterated government’s commitment to the restoration of the state’s lost glory in the education sector, saying “Ekiti State recorded 36.5 percent performance in WAEC this year as against 25 percent last year and that only happened because strict measures were introduced and teachers were greatly motivated and encouraged.

 

“It should be recalled that in 2003 when Governor Fayose assumed office then, Ekiti State was number 35 in WAEC and by the time he left office in 2006, the State was number eight. That feat can still be recorded and we are working assiduously towards returning the State’s lost glory.”

 

PM News

Don’t accept Fayose’s rams, Imams warn Muslims

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League of Imams and Alfa in Ekiti State on Tuesday ordered Muslims in the state to reject Sallah rams or any other food items for Sallah celebration from Governor Ayodele Fayose.

They said this became necessary over what they described as the deliberate marginalization of Muslim members by Fayose.

At a meeting of the Muslim clerics held at Anser- Udeen Central Mosque Odo-Otu, Ado-Ekiti, the Imams said Muslims had almost zero slot in the appointments of commissioners and other officials by the governor Fayose.

They added that efforts to get the governor redress the lopsidedness were fruitless.

According to a statement endorsed by the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affair (NSCIA) and National Council of Muslim Youth Organisation (NACOMYO), it was resolved that no Muslim in the State should collect rams and other food items if presented to them in any form by the government.

The statement, which was signed by the leaderships of the Imams and Alfa said, any Muslim that collected such rams or food items under any guise had taken Haram (unlawful) and that the punishment of the Almighty Allah awaited the person. (Quran 71 verse 28).