Ekiti: Foreign partners to return after PDP’s exit

By Ojo Olumide



International development partners have pledged to return to Ekiti State on the condition that there is a paradigm shift from the current political leadership in the state. Ekiti State lost millions of dollars to foreign partnership due to what sources link to the “acrimonious, inept and corrupt” attitude of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the state.

An official of a foreign Embassy told our correspondent this morning that many of the international partners left Ekiti in 2014 following the emergence of the current state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose whose policies and programmes are said to be hostile to potentials of foreign intervention in the social and economic landscape of the mainly agrarian state.

The source who does not wish to be named told Irohinoodua “We are watching developments in Ekiti with keen interests. Ekiti used to be the focal point of international intervention until 2014 when the current leadership emerged. Many of the development partners had to withdraw for obvious reasons.” The source said no developed country would assist a state where the governor has no respect for the Tenders Board and where development is viewed from the prism of handing over crumps to the masses which further diminish their worth and their creative energy.

When pressed further he said the government of Mr Fayose abhors best international practices and was ‘extremely hostile” to partnership with international agencies that would have assisted Ekiti in many respects. He said the governor was averse to the rigorous and transparent culture of international agencies and was found of asking for kickbacks on any little project saying the governor reminded him of “Uganda under Idi Amin.”

He said between at a time the Department for International Development, (DFID) of the British Government listed Ekiti as the focal point in the entire South West but that the group had to withdraw from Ekiti with all the millions of aids that Ekiti people would have benefited from, including but not limited to local and overseas training for teachers and civil servants and outright investments in education and Medicare.

In the year 2016 and 2017 along, the DfID increased targeting private sector investment, which the ... with the transfer of a total of £735m in that year alone most of which went into many states in Nigeria and Asia.

Other partners that left Ekiti state included the European Union, (EU) the DFID, the World Bank while many Western agencies had to boycott assistance and cooperation slated for Ekiti State in the past four years.

Sources said the development partners are anxiously waiting for Dr Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) to win as a condition for a full time return of the development partners with proven ability to lift the state from a state of stupor through collaborations with the state government on various projects.

Don't worry ,Fayose Eleka is leaving by July 14. Nobody in their right senses do dev business with such rogues presently governing Ekiti.

Why all this political liar? I think Ekiti people should go and ask Ondo state people how foreigner investor has changed their standard of living now with all this lies no nation can move forward its better we youth should stand on our feet to secure for our future rather than wasting our time on fake idea.