Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state and two of his aides have been charged with libel by a former Ekiti state Commissioner for Finance, Dapo Kolawole. Kolawole is seeking damages in the region of N20billion in a suit where he also named the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Attorney General of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, Central Bank of Nigeria and Debt Management Office.
Equally joined in the suit are the EFCC chairman, Secretary to Ekiti State Government, the Ekiti state Accountant General and Commissioner for Finance. Kolawole’s suit, among other things, prays the court grant him damages of N10 billion naira each in his libel suit against Fayose’s spokesman, Lere Olayinka and a House of Assembly member for libellous statements made against his person on a television and radio programme.
They had both claimed he, alongside his then-principal, Kayode Fayemi, incurred an N85 billion debt which the state won’t be able o pay off till 2036. The suit also includes “an order directing the Federal Ministry of Power Works & Housing– the 4th defendant, to investigate the road contract relating to Ikere-Iju-Ondo Boundary Road, cancellation and breach of the appropriation laws of Ekiti State and stop further payments or reimbursement that is due on the Ikere Township Dualisation or Ikere-Iju-Ondo Boundary Dualisation, a contract validly awarded to China Railway 3 (CR3) to cover Ikere – Iju Ondo State Boundary Dualisation.
"An order directing that any further disbursement of bailout funds, Paris Club, Grants or other reimbursement due to Ekiti State being Federal Government palliatives shall be disbursed directly through a committee of EFCC, Accountant General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Finance, Accountant General of Ekiti State, Auditor General of Ekiti State and Auditor General for Local Government of Ekiti State to avert further diversion or misappropriation of such funds by Government of Ekiti State particularly the 10th to 12th defendants being good gesture of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Buhari.”
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