'Revenue allocation should be restructured'

When will the state pay the
N18,000 minimum wage to
workers?
The federal government has
not paid. The minimum wage
is- sue is a legal issue. Ekiti
State will not make its
workers to suffer. Be that as it
may, there is the need for the
revenue to accrue. Federal
government is taking the
chunk of the money. The
states are just groping. It has
its own implications on
revenue allocation. The federal
government cannot just
create problems for the state.
Revenue allocation should be
restructured for the states to
be able to pay. But it is a
constitutional matter, which
no state has control over.
There must be a financial
back-up to enable the states
to pay. It is not only minimum
wage that the people need.
The people must be fully
empowered. It is not the
workers alone that require
money to survive. What about
the ordinary man on the
street? The masses of our
people must not suffer. It
must be a total empowerment
of our people and that is what
our government is doing.
How do you react to critics
who say that the government
is demolishing people’s
houses in Ekiti?
Fayemi Administration is
embarking on urban renewal.
We have started in Ado-Ekiti.
The import of this is beyond
the ken and comprehension
of those who lack affective
orientation and value. They
say the government is
demolishing. When you make
the cities attractive, they
attract investor as havens of
peace, beauty and what
humanity represents. Shanties
are being demolished to pave
way for a beautiful society
and tourism will flow from
there and it is a good source
of income.
What has changed in Ekiti
State since Dr Kayode Fayemi
assumed office as governor?
Essentially, there is peace in
the land, unlike what we had
in the past. Governor Kayode
Fayemi has brought peace,
which is the foundation of
progress. This is the fallout of
the electoral legitimacy given
to him. People are working
and cooperating with the
governor to have
performance legitimacy. We
cannot compare this
administration with the
previous one because,
judging by the verdict of the
court, there was no
government It was chaos all
over the place. There is peace
now and it is translating to
development.
In concrete terms, what are
the achievements of the
administration?
Let us start with education.
Government convened the
education summit. the summit
dissected the education sector
in the state and came up with
the issue of restructuring at
the tertiary level. There were
three universities in place,
which were not more than
glorified secondary schools.
The three were merged and it
is now Ekiti State University.
The meaning of this is that
there will be internal
expansion. The university is
now steered towards
becoming what a university
should be; a citadel of
knowledge. That was the
thoughtful outcome of the
education summit of all
stakeholders in the primary,
secondary and tertiary levels
to meet the peoples’
yearnings and justify the
description of Ekiti as the
‘Fountain of Knowledge’. Now,
promotion for students will be
based on examination, unlike
before when they were
promoted without any
criterion.
What about the welfare of the
people?
The administration has been
implementing free medical
services for children, pregnant
women, disabled and aged.
Government has embarked
on the free medical mission.
The first phase was across the
senatorial districts. The
second phase has started
from Ekiti North. You will
marvel at the turn out. About
150,000 participated in the
exercise. People were
screened for high blood
pressure, cataract, and
ailments that could not be
handled at that level were
referred to the General
Hospital. Drugs were given.
The quality of drugs was
worth N5,000, N10,000,
N15,000. People were happy.
Primary health care system is
growing in Ekiti State.
How is the administration
fighting the infrastructure
battle?
Ten major road contracts
have been awarded and some
of them are nearing
completion. The Ilwe/Ado
Ekiti, Ilawe/Igbara-Odo,
Igbara-Odo/Ikere, Afao/
Ilupeju. Iworoko/Igede roads
have been awarded. The
‘previous government’ never
completed any project. The
state government is
networking with the federal
government. There was a visit
by the governor to the federal
ministries, departments and
agencies three weeks ago. He
held discussions with them on
the implementation of federal
government projects in Ekiti
State.
How is the government
tackling unemployment in
Ekitiland?
The government started by
trying to have a database for
youths. 20,000 were initially
expected, but about 150,000
showed up for the project.
The thing has to be done in
phases. We started with
2,500. They have been trained.
It will be in batches.
Government cannot be the
employer of labour. The
government is trying to re-
orientate our youths to be
self-employed. What the
government is doing now is
to develop the youths to work
for themselves. In that wise,
the middle class, which is the
bastion of any economy, will
grow. No government has
taken the issue of women
empowerment seriously more
that Ekiti government. The
number of women in the
cabinet and House of
Representatives is
encouraging. The deputy
governor is a woman. The
wife of the governor is not
relenting. Tourism is growing.
Go to Ikogosi warm spring. It
was a waste before, but by
the time the administration is
celebrating its first
anniversary, it will be the
pride of Ekiti. When you
assess all these, you will
conclude that, in the next two
years, Ekiti will become an
Eldorado. Agriculture, the
mainstream of the economy,
will be pursued vigorously. We
are returning to the farm
settlements of Awolowo era.
We will not limit activities to
farming. We will improve on
canning.
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