APC says Governor is against TSA policy to conceal fraud

The Ekiti state chapter of the All Progressives Congress has accused the state Governor, Ayodele Fayose of plotting to conceal fraud for opposing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy of the Federal Government.

On Friday, February 19, Fayose had said the Federal Government should perish the thought of imposing the TSA on states, claiming the policy is not even working for those who introduced it.

The APC Publicity Secretary in Ekiti, Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement on Monday, February 22, said for the Governor to oppose a policy that would ensure financial accountability indicates an ulterior motive of fraud.

“TSA is aimed at ensuring that all government earnings are paid into a single account to ensure accountability and check fraud unlike in the past where several governments’ accounts were scattered in many banks to perpetrate frauds", Olatunbosun said.

“For a governor who describes himself as a friend of the poor to oppose a policy that will make the same poor people enjoy the benefits of transparent governance is the height of irresponsibility and a confirmation of allegations of fraud against the governor in his handling of financial issues.

“We can now see the reason why the governor has opened several channels of revenue collections to be paid into several phoney accounts that revenue collection officers are describing as opaque”, he added.'

The spokesman alleged that Fayose opened a secret account, without the knowledge of the state's treasury, into which taxes and fines forced on Ekiti people are paid.

He mentioned some of the fines as "traffic offences and suffocating taxes he imposed on poor traders that he deceived with abundance of life during campaigns.

“After sacking thousands of workers in youth empowerment scheme and permanent secretaries; after cutting monarchs’ and workers’ allowances and running grants and after stopping funds for social security scheme for the elderly and security agencies but increasing his personal monthly security vote from N100m to N250, Fayose hired less than 200 political appointees as against over 800 appointees by Governor Kayode Fayemi, yet he tells Ekiti people that he pays the same N2.6 billion that Fayemi paid as salaries and allowances to workers monthly.”

READ: Fayose asks Buhari to devalue Naira

Olatubosun said there is no way Fayose would have been paying the same bill Fayemi paid as monthly wages to workers.

“Fayose has no explanation to make to Ekiti people on how he spent N22b refund on federal road projects, the N2b ecological fund, several billions of naira statutory allocations to the state and LGAs and N9.1 bailout cash, among others.

“Fayose has not said anything about the Internally Generated Revenue of the state, which he has embarked upon with an aggressive drive thereby bringing untold hardship on the citizens. What of the school fees he introduced in primary and secondary schools, including high fees in tertiary institutions?” he queried.

He also alleged that the Fayose government runs several fictitious accounts, calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Central Bank of Nigeria and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to look into the various fictitious accounts.

“We are confident that the findings of these agencies will reveal the reason why Fayose is opposed to the TSA policy,” Olatunbosun added.

He called on Ekiti people at home and in diaspora to put a check to the Governor's “unnecessary belligerent” attitude to the Federal Government just because he does not belongs to the opposition.