The first lady of Ekiti state, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, has denied that her husband, Dr. Kayode Fayemi is appointing people described as ‘foreigners’ into his cabinet.
Mrs Fayemi insisted that those that had been appointed in the last two months of his husband’s administration were more of homegrown politicians, contrary to the insinuation that expatriates have taken over the government.
The governor’s wife also said the best way Ekiti people can overcome the onerous challenge of poverty is to reignite the culture of being ‘our brother’s keepers’, where the wealthy would learn how to give helps to the poor in the society.
Mrs Fayemi spoke in Ado Ekiti on Friday while delivering a lecture entitled: ‘Reclaiming our Lands , Restoring our Values: Beyond Slogan’ , to mark the 2018 Press Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), Ekiti state chapter.
Delivering the two hours lecture, Mrs Fayemi said: “The rumour peddlers have started again the way they did in our first term where a governor that did well to empower the people , make life abundant for Ekiti and worked hard to uplift our values were said to have lost election as a result of disconnect from the people, which was a lie.
“In any political contest, one will lose and the other will win. Was it the Secretary to the State government or the Chief of Staff or some of them that are present with me in this gathering that are expatriates? Who among the appointees?.
“They have started this time and we are not going to tolerate them to spoil our government with their rumour. This time we are ready for these rumour peddlers”, she said.
The first lady added that the well articulated policy thrust of Dr Fayemi was anchored on Social Investments, Infrastructure Development, Knowledge Economy, Agriculture and Rural Development, saying all these would be prosecuted to add values to Ekiti and make
life abundant for the poor .
“This was the policy thrust through which Fayemi campaigned to Ekiti people and which resonated deeply with the good people of Ekiti State. The campaign theme did not need a lot of explaining. There was a broad based consensus across the State and beyond that something had gone seriously wrong, and that wrong had to be corrected before it was too late
“It is obvious that all sectors of our national life are reeling from a crisis of values. The definitive elements of the national moral condition include a raging culture of instant gratification that feeds short termism, profiteering, and fraud.
“In the aftermath of the June 2014 elections, a number of narratives emerged about the reasons why Dr. Fayemi lost, most of them tainted with half-truths, outright lies, and distortions. In every political contest, someone will win and some people will lose, and it is okay to
try to identify reasons for political failure or glory.
So it is this same man who, after four years of back-breaking work with projects that touched the lives of people in all communities in Ekiti, a commitment to excellence, transparency, professionalism, merit and accountability, with hardly any breaks, was accused of being
arrogant, disconnected and a political novice.
“In his words during his inauguration speech, Fayemi affirmed that he would fight to restore our glories in education when Ekiti was the real Fountain of Knowledge, rekindle our family values when one will be poor but won’t sleep hungry or beg for food, bring back virtues of
industry, honesty, sincerity and many others”, she stated.
