[size=18pt]ACN alleges plot to destabilise Ekiti over council polls[/size]

Friday, 12 November 2010 00:00 From Muyiwa Adeyemi (Head South West Bureau Ado Ekiti) News - National



THE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Ekiti State, has alleged that the recently dissolved chairmen of the local councils have “perfected fresh plots to destabilise the new-found peace and tranquility being enjoyed in the state.”

Meanwhile, Governor Kayode Fayemi has called for private sector assistance to actualise his vision for the state just as Globacom Telecommunication has reduced call costs within the state by 50 per cent in the past three weeks in support of his administration.

A statement by Emmanuel T. Omiyale, Publicity Secretary, ACN (Ekiti), claimed that the former local government bosses held a meeting over the weekend in the house of a top party stalwart in Ogun State, to review the circumstances that led to their ouster from office.

The statement added: “The meeting also centered on the next strategy to be used to forcefully regain control of the local government secretariats in the state through resort to violence following an earlier failed attempt to invade the secretariats shortly after the dissolution of the councils.

“We recognise the fact that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which sponsored the ousted chairmen for the illegal December 20, 2008 local government election won’t give up without a fight hence the resort to asinine propaganda and destructive brinkmanship.

“The ACN-led government followed due process and the rule of law in dissolving the 16 local councils in the state which was done in the overriding interest of the people of the state in accordance with the spirit and letters of Section 23 b (1 and 11) of the Local Government (Amendment) Law 2001.
“Law-abiding citizens need not entertain any fear; they should report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agencies.

“We, however, urge any person or group still aggrieved with the dissolution of the councils to use constitutional means to ventilate their grievances. Dissolution of the local governments is a constitutional matter and our courts are there to adjudicate over such matters.”

The telecommunication giant’s Business Director, Mr. Adeniyi Olukayode, who expressed his support for Fayemi in Ado Ekiti during a courtesy call on the governor, said users of the lines in the state were now paying 25 kobo per second rather than 49 kobo being charged nationwide.

He said the company was “incurably committed to the agenda of the Fayemi government, especially in the area of youth empowerment,” where he pledged out that the firm would soon start to train some youth in public phone calls.

He disclosed that the company has awarded a N2.5 billion contract for the erection of towers in the state to ensure that all its towns and villages have Glo signal, beside the N3 billion contract spent under the previous administration.

Responding, Fayemi urged Globacom, as a promoter of sports in the country, to assist the government’s bid for stardom in sporting activities, especially the revival of Fountain Football Club owned by the state.
The governor declared the intention of his government to set up a Sports' Academy and Games' Village, where youths would have the requisite exposure for the realisation of their talents in sports
He said the youth of the state are naturally endowed with sporting skills and that they needed impetus and veritable avenue for them to realize their potentials for the betterment of Ekiti and Nigeria as a country.
Fayemi noted that the state has produced world class athletes like the late Oluyemi Kayode, Mr. Soji Fasubaa and Damola Osayomi, currently the best woman sprinter in Africa.


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