The October 16 inauguration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the next governor of Ekiti State may experience major setbacks as the state governor, Ayo Fayose, has allegedly refused to give the transition committee set up by Fayemi the much-needed support.

According to an exclusive report from Daily Independent on Thursday, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said while Fayose, the outgoing governor, has refused to congratulate Fayemi since his victory in the July 14 governorship election, he has also refused to set up a transition committee that will ensure a seamless handover on October 16.

He said the committee set up by Fayemi, headed by Senator Bunmi Adetunmi has written letters to Fayose, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and the Head of Service (HOS) but the governor refused to respond to the letters.

According to him, though the HOS responded to the letter, he couldn’t do anything since his principal did not give him the go-ahead to liaise with the Fayemi committee.

He said, “The outgoing governor has not given us an iota of cooperation as far as the handover is concerned. And because he is not cooperating with us, his officials too are not cooperating because of fear he may sanction them. Initially, we didn’t want to speak out because we feel he may change his mind and the situation will be better but with just few weeks away to the inauguration, the situation has not improved a bit.

“The transition committee that Fayemi set up headed by Senator Bunmi Adetunbi and other prominent sons and daughters of the state has begun one or two things but there is a little to what they can do because the state government is not forthcoming with needed information.

“However, despite the non-cooperation by the state government, the committee set up by Fayemi kept doing its work, because whether they like it or not, on October 16, there must be inauguration of a new government. The only thing is how tidy the arrangement will be is a function of the cooperation given by the outgoing government”.

However, speaking with our correspondent, Idowu Adelusi, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Fayose, said contrary to the APC’s claim, Governor Fayose has set up a transition committee but the Fayemi committee has refused to reach out to them.

On why Fayose has not congratulated Fayemi, Adelusi said the Ekiti State government will not congratulate Fayemi for carrying out a daylight robbery in the state.

He said Fayemi congratulated Fayose in 2014 because the election that produced Fayose as governor was credible and was lauded by both local and international observers.

“We cannot congratulate him because the election in Ekiti was daylight robbery. Fayemi congratulated Governor Fayose in 2014 because he knew that Governor Fayose won the election convincingly.

•Excerpted from a Daily Independent report

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