ADO EKITI, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State on Friday came hard on the last economic retreat by the president, governors and other stakeholders and described the gathering called National Economic Council (NEC) retreat as “mere jamboree and waste of over N250 million public fund.”
He said the money the Federal Government spent on the retreat he attended and was part of, would have been better useful if it was given to empower small businesses such as pepper sellers to boost their trade.
Governor Fayose claimed in a statement that “the retreat has further exposed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Muhammadu Buhari lacked economic blueprint,” saying “the president is still talking the way he talked while seeking for votes from Nigerians.”
According to Fayose in the statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, “it is funny that the same set of people who as governors, ruined the economy of their states were the resource persons at the retreat.”
He said: “What solution can the likes of former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who as governor plunged the state into unprecedented debt by borrowing money to build governor’s lodge, pavilion and uncompleted civic centre proffer to the economy of Nigeria?
“It is strange that close to one year after President Buhari was sworn in, he still cannot tell Nigerians one major economic step his government has taken to salvage the economy.
“He has not taken any key step and there is no economic team. That is strange!”
Fayose continued: “I was at the retreat and I can tell Nigerians categorically that it was just a jamboree. It was a waste of over N250 million public fund because most of the resource persons were the same people who ran their states aground.
“Instead of wasting over N250 million on such a jamboree, it would have been better if the fund is given to those downtrodden Nigerians who are trading with as little as N5,000.
“For instance, at N10,000 each, N250 million will go round 25,000 pepper sellers whose capital is not more than N5,000 and that would go a long way in boosting their trade.”
Credit: Tribune (Nigeria)
