The war of words between the outgoing All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State continued at the weekend as the latter accused the Fayemi-led government of selling off state property, at rates far lower than officially valued prices. In a release by state chapter of the PDP and signed by its Publicity Secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, the party raised the alarm that valuable assets and property of the state were being sold at give away prices by the outgoing Kayode Fayemi administration. The party also alleged that the property were being sold to chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and cronies of the governor. It accused some top officials in the state’s Housing Corporation and the Directorate of Lands and Planning of conniving with APC leaders and top government’s functionaries to perpetrate the
fraud. The PDP said the alleged fraudulent sale of property included government assets in the state, as well as some located in Abuja and Lagos. It listed the affected property to include pieces of land and houses at Irewolede Estate Phases I and II, Ado-Ekiti, as well as land and houses at Obasanjo Housing Estate, Ikere Road, Ado-Ekiti, and vehicles and state property in Abuja and
Lagos.
The PDP statement read in part: “Lands at Irewolede and Obasanjo Estates are for Housing Development Scheme, with Certificates of
Occupancy (C of O). “Now, a plot of land at Irewolede Phase II and
Obasanjo Estate is being sold to Fayemi’s cronies at a very ridiculous price of N200,000, while the houses at Irewolede Phase I are being allocated to political appointees and Fayemi’s cronies at a give away price of N6 million instead of the N12 million placed on the property by official valuer.
Reacting to the allegations, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Tayo Ekundayo, challenged the PDP to provide evidence to substantiate its allegations. Ekundayo said: “I can tell you that it is a lie to say that we are selling state property at prices below the stipulated ones.
I know that I also got a property recently and I ensured that I paid the stipulated amount by official standard. “So, it is a lie to say that we do that. It is only the PDP that can do such. I challenge them to provide evidence of their allegation that we are selling state property below the official prices. I challenge them to provide proof for the claims.”