APC kicks as Ekiti assembly passes 2018 budget
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose
• NULGE embarks on strike over salaries, others
Ekiti State House of Assembly yesterday passed the 2018 Revised Appropriation Bill of N108.5 billion budget into law.But the three lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the house said that Governor Ayodele Fayose plans to use the budget to milk the state dry before his exit from Government House.
Chairman, House Committee on Information, Samuel Omotoso, stated yesterday that the passage of the revised estimates was in accordance with the rules of the House and similar to that of 2014 passed by the 4th assembly under Adewale Omirin and signed into law by Governor Kayode Fayemi. He stated further that revised appropriation bills were normal in a democracy, as they allow the executive arm to provide for over- and under-budgeted headings in the quest to operate according to the law.
He thanked all the members who gathered during the recess to attend to the bill.On behalf of the two other APC lawmakers, Gboyega Aribisogan said: “The APC lawmakers and some members are not in support of the bill because it has been discovered that the outgoing governor wanted to use the house to legitimise fraud.”He argued that the appropriation committee did not sit on the bill, that it was rather back-dated to August 30 to give an impression that the committee had since been deliberating on it.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Ekiti has declared indefinite strike from today, alleging unpaid salaries and negligence of workers’ welfare by Fayose.
The workers are aggrieved that despite their goodwill to the administration, the government failed to honour an agreement signed at the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) of September 4.The umbrella body of local government workers in Ekiti also warned the state government against fresh recruitment exercise.
Rising from an emergency meeting on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti, the union directed all workers to stay at home from Friday (today) until all contentious issues, including social security and payment to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) were addressed.
It warned that it would not hesitate to deal with any member who disobeyed the directive.A communiqué signed by Ekiti NULGE president, Olubunmi Ajimoko, and secretary, Suleiman Alero, expressed concerns that while scores of people were daily retiring from both the local government and teaching services, salaries had remained static and pensions increasing drastically monthly.
