Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said that he in­sisted that local govern­ment election must hold in the state to lessen the burden on the state govern­ment and bring governance closer to the people in the grassroots.
Fayose made this disclo­sure during a Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) Elders’ Forum meeting held in Otun- Ekiti, headquarters of Moba Local Government Area of the state, at the weekend.
According to a statement by Stephen Gbadamosi, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the gov­ernor was represented by the Speaker, Pastor Kola Oluwa­wole, who maintained that nothing would stop the local government poll from hold­ing according to the time-ta­ble released by the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Com­mittee (EKSIEC).
“As the election approach­es, let us talk to our children who are contesting not to cause trouble. They all have right to those positions, but only one person can occupy a post at any given time. Once a person has emerged through a credible process, others should support him or her. “The governor asked me to tell you that in his experience as a politician, he has known that the elders are the back­bone of the party. That is why he is interested in your forum. It is important. Those who are contesting for one position or the other in the party ema­nated from your wards, your compounds and houses.
“The governor also asked me to tell you that he is father over all party and as such, he has no special candidate. It the person that you choose from your local government or ward that I recognise. It is grassroots politics. Every­body has to go and work. If anybody tells you that he is Oshoko’s candidate, you should also tell him that you are Oshoko’s candidate,” Olu­wawole said. He added that the state government had to put employment into the civil service on hold as a result of paucity of funds, noting that government, monthly, had to augment the federal alloca­tion for it to be enough to pay workers’ salaries. The forum consists of 10 members of the PDP who are above 60 years of age each from the 11 wards in the local government, and the meeting is expected to be moving round the local gov­ernments in the state.