The Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress, has said the arrival of his government marks the end of the past administration which he described as an “error”.
The state Chief Judge, Ayodeji Daramola, administered the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office on Fayemi at about 12:20 pm. Fayemi’s deputy, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, had earlier taken his oath at about 12:07 pm.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Fayemi as the winner of the July 14 governorship election.
The results indicated that Fayemi polled 197,459 votes while his closest rival and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, got 178,121 votes.
Fayemi noted that his government would review the financial status of the state with a rising debt, which he put at N170bn under the PDP-led government of Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Fayose had repeatedly denied borrowing money claiming the state’s debt was incurred by the previous government of Fayemi during his first term.
The governor said, “As much as today marks the beginning of a new phase in our history as a people, it also signals the end of an era, or more appropriately, the end of an error. Without a doubt, Ekiti has been through a terrible wilderness experience within the last four years,” he said.
“Our reputation as a people has been soiled and we have become the pot of jokes due to the ineptitude, loquacious ignorance and ravenous corruption masquerading as governance in our state during the last administration.
“As we assume office, it is our duty, and we will live up to it, to ensure we thoroughly review, document, and widely disseminate the present state of affairs so that all and sundry can know what has become of our commonwealth.
“Independently verifiable preliminary findings indicate that we have been plunged into a debt abyss of over N170bn, with commitments to innumerable white elephants, an average of eight months’ salaries owed across government entities, and many state assets unaccounted for.”
“We will ensure that within 100 days from today, Ekiti Kete will know the true position of things, in keeping with our ethos of transparency and accountability in governance. We are not interested in trials by media, witch hunt or playing to the gallery. We will seek out the truth and lay it before our people.”
The former Minister stated that Ekiti under him won’t degenerate to the level of allowing schoolchildren to pay various taxes in their quests to receive a formal education.
He promised that his government would reinstate the N5,000 social security to the elderly and make tremendous positive impacts in the areas of agriculture, social investment and economy.