A former Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly and governorship aspirant, Femi Bamisile has alleged that the multi-billion naira Airport project undertaken by Governor Ayodele Fayose is a conduit- pipe through which the governor intends to loot the state’s treasury.
Dismissing the project as a misplaced priority during an interview with newsmen over the weekend, the All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain queried the rationale behind the building of a N17 billion airport in an economically disadvantaged state like Ekiti.
This was as he categorically denied insinuations that he was planning to return to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state.
According to him, “I view this airport project as an attempt to loot our funds. Why can’t Fayose take N1.6 billion out of the N17 billion to be wasted on this project, to construct Ado-Ikere-Iju road?
“What economic advantage has the airport in Akure on Ondo State? It is even under-utilised.
“Some of the tourist attractions like Ikogosi Warm Spring and Ipole Water Fall that can attract tourists to Ekiti are no longer functional.”
Bamisile said the mere fact that Fayose’s government inaugurated the project without following “due process” vividly depicted that it was programmed to fail.
But Fayose, who reacted swiftly through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, maintained that the project was meant to boost the economy and integrity of the state, adding that, “This is a project that could not be executed by Fayemi because that regime did not believe in the well-being and economic progress of Ekiti State.
“I am calling on Ekiti people to disregard what the APC people have said,” the CPS stated. He recalled that when Fayose wanted to dualise Ado Ekiti township roads during his first tenure, the same APC members, who were then in Alliance for Democracy(AD) criticized the project.
Adelusi noted that, “everybody is proud of what Fayose did by daulising Ado Ekiti township roads. Fayose has been scoring first in developing Ekiti. Not only will the airport be built. Fayose will build the first flyover in Ekiti and also an ultra-modern market to replace the Oja- Oba Market.”
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