A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and governorship aspirant in Ekiti state Hon. (Engr.) Bamidele Faparusi, has berated Governor Ayodele Fayose over the lingering fuel crisis in the State.
Faparusi while reacting to the suspension of the three weeks old strike declared by oil dealers in the state in a statement sent to Vanguard said, the decision by the governor to take the case to Osun State for resolution is “shameful and belittling.”
This is as he said the action has “eroded the pride of Ekiti as a federating state in Nigeria.”
The one time house of representative member emphasised that the governor’s singular action has vividly confirmed the fact that he is “grossly incompetent and intellectually hollow to lead highly sophisticated people of the State.”
Recall that, Oil dealers, under the auspices of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), had three weeks ago declared industrial action to repel government’s policy to demolish petrol stations erected within residential areas.
Sequel to the lingering nature of the bedlam, the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, had on Sunday summoned a meeting between Fayose and oil dealers in a faraway Osogbo, where the imbroglio was resolved amicably with each party soft-pedalling on their earlier hard postures.
Reacting to the scenario, Faparusi, added that taking the issue out of the shores of Ekiti for resolution had brought a question mark on Fayose’s competence to govern Ekiti.
He said that it was also unfathomable and morally reprehensible for the governor to be declaring support for black marketers and operators of illicit businesses, describing this as a criminal offence.
The APC chieftain said the state had witnessed more complicated situations under the preceding governments of Dr Kayode Fayemi, Niyi Adebayo and Segun Oni and such problems were treated as a family affair deploying internal mechanisms for resolution rather than exploring the services of external mediators.
“When former Governor Fayemi had issue with Ekiti teachers over TDNA in 2013, he didn’t run to Lagos or Ibadan for resolution. He listened to timely interventions from stakeholders and the issue was settled.
“But Governor Fayose didn’t allow the interventions of our traditional rulers, Council of Ekiti Elders and other stakeholders to yield fruits before rushing to Osun State for succor. This conveyed a message of disrespect to our statesmen who took time to ensure that the crisis abates.
“Governor Fayose had earlier expressed recalcitrant posture to the resolution of this crisis by saying that he won’t dialogue with oil dealers. This is the same man who condemned President Muhammadu Buhari for not engaging the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu and the Niger Delta Militants in dialogues. These groups had been pushing for secession at different times and flouting the constitution.
“What had prevented a governor who condemned a President for not dialoguing with rebels from engaging oil dealers, who posed no threat to Ekiti and who were merely doing their legitimate businesses in round table talks? All these were clear indications that Governor Fayose is hypocritical,” he said.
He blasted the governor for maintaining hard stand and allowed the issue to drag on unnecessarily, thereby inflicting pains on innocent Ekiti indigenes.
He said: “It’s a shame that Fayose could not resolve what supposed to be Ekiti affair within his own jurisdiction timely and conscientiously. It is a complete failure of leadership; it’s like a father taking his family to meet another father to make peace in his family.
“Must Fayose wait till this disgraceful stage before swallowing his ego and succumb to good reasoning and common sense?” he asked.
He saluted the oil dealers for their steadfastness in their struggle to protect their investments and jobs of hundreds of Ekiti residents, which Fayose’s administration was lukewarm to protect.
Source – Vanguard
