Oni Challenges Fayemi to Probe His Govt

Segun Oni

By: Toba Suleiman in  Ado-Ekiti

The former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni, has challenged the state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to constitute an independent probe panel to investigate the activities of his government between 2007 and 2010.

Oni, while responding to a threat by Fayemi to probe his administration, recommended that membership of the probe panel  should comprise among others,  representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Transparency International (TI).

Part of the brief, he said in a statement yesterday, should include a probe into the finances of the state from May 29, 2007 to date.

Fayemi, while addressing Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) supporters in Ado-Ekiti, at the weekend, after the Supreme Court dismissed a suit by Oni challenging his removal by a judgment of the Court of Appeal, had said with the conclusion of the case, the Oni administration should be ready to account for how it managed public funds.

But Oni in the statement issued by his media aide, Mr.  Lere Olayinka, said he was not afraid of probe.

"This time around, Fayemi must make real his threat and if he does not, we will go to court to get the court to compel him to do so.

“However, he must not be the one to appoint those who will carry out the probe because the finances of the government during his own tenure must also be probed", he added.

He recalled that Fayemi had set up a panel to probe contracts awarded by the Oni-led government and the panel came up with a White Paper, which is being challenged in court.

"So, what does he want to probe again? Or has he lost faith in the state high courts, where the cases are being tried?

“The general public should also be reminded that this same Fayemi had accused Oni of overpayment on the contract for the dualisation of Ado-Ifaki road then when the contract sum, which was N6.3 billion, was only increased by N1.1 billion, which is less than 20 per cent”,  he said.

The statement added that  Fayemi, who accused Oni of inflating the road contract, had now increased it by 50 per cent (from N7.4 billion to N11 billion).

“On that road, they are not going to pay any new compensation. They are not going to clear bushes. It only remains one spot where they will widen the culvert, so what are they going to spend N4 billion on?" the statement stated.

"Therefore, Fayemi should stop threatening us with probe. We have told him several times to go ahead with the probe but he must also include the period that he has been governor of the state and the probe must be done by independent panel,"  he said.