Monetised cars: Ekiti issues ultimatum to Fayemi’s appointees

Ekiti State Government has asked political appointees who served under the Dr Kayode Fayemi-led All Progressives Congress government to pay the balance of N109.4m for vehicles monetised to them while in office or return the cars.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ayodele Fayose, Mr Idowu Adelusi, said brand new vehicles were given to the political appointees that worked under Fayemi under the monetised policy, but 54 of the appointees refused to complete payment for the vehicles with some owing as much as N5m.

Adelusi warned them to “either pay the N109.4m or return the vehicles without delay to avert using the police to recover the vehicles from them.”

The statement said all entreaties to the APC stalwarts to pay the debt had remained abortive as letters written to them was never replied.

But Oyebode has described the allegation as another crude ploy by Fayose to harass and intimidate members of the opposition ahead of the March 28 presidential election.

In a reaction issued on behalf of others on Tuesday, he said this was the second attempt by Fayose and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to get opposition members out of circulation, “having made a similar attempt to get many of them arrested in February before the presidential election which was originally scheduled for February 14 was postponed.

Oyebode, who reminded Fayose and the State security agencies that the matter of the monetised vehicles was currently before the Ado Ekiti High Court, added that it was a policy of the immediate past administration in the state to monetise official cars to public office holders of certain categories.

“Under the arrangement, the officials are to pay 60 percent of the cost of the vehicles while the government would pay the remaining 40 percent. Under the agreement, an agreed sum was deducted monthly from the officials’ salaries while the outstanding balance would be deducted from their severance allowance at the end of their tenure.

“Severance payment to public office holders is 300 per cent of their annual basic salary and is payable at the end of their tenure in line with the directive of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

“By the time the Fayemi administration wound up on October 15, 2014, majority of the affected members were at various stages of completion of the repayment for the monetised cars, while government was also owing them some obligations including unpaid allowances, salaries and the severance allowance.