On Fayose’s Vile Politics (2) -By Igboeli Arinze

Furthermore, Governor Fayose has been making a number of pedestrian allegations, reminding me of the character ‘Ramota’ in the TV series, The New Masquerade. In his penchant for tomfoolery, Fayose took the Buhari administration to the cleaners on the state of the economy. Explicitly, Fayose had accused the Buhari administration of paying the lowest ever allocation to the states and local governments.

Attempting to take Fayose seriously for the moment, let us assume that his comments suggest the fact that the president is skimming of the top and shortchanging the three tiers of government. Perhaps, President Buhari is engaged in the ‘more you look the less you see’, a one chance practice, shortchanging not only the local governments and states but also the Federal Government, which he presides over. This claim is however laughable, coming from a governor whose administration has been notorious for making illegal deductions from funds that accrue to the local governments through the Joint Account Allocation Committee, JAAC. Under spurious claims, the people of Ekiti have been repeatedly shortchanged where caretaker councils rather than elected councils have been used to siphon funds meant for the development of these areas. It is this same Fayose that is accusing the Buhari led administration of shortchanging states and local governments.

Let’s assume that Fayose isn’t accusing Buhari of skimming off the top. He just does not get why with the’ high prices’ been enjoyed by oil producing nations in today’s crude oil markets and the ‘robust economy’ the past administration left Nigerians, where states not only’ paid’ workers duly but also added bonuses and cleared all pensions owed. To many, it seems that Fayose glibly thinks that crude oil prices are still at an all time high and thus there is no need for the N374 billion shared in October; which is a far cry, compared with the background of Nigeria’s ‘lush’ economic environment. However, when one takes into cognizance the fact that Fayose’s alter ego in former President Jonathan owing to the latter’s shambolic handling of the economy distributed the sum of N358 billion for the month of May, the lowest ever after all the symphony that our economy was thriving as well as did bequeath a deficit in trillions of Naira, then it would be best if we won’t indulge him in his vanity but present facts at the disposal of the ordinary Nigerian.

Fayose forgets that the poor economic conditions presently experienced by Nigerians is as a result of the hemorrhaging and massive corruption witnessed in the past administration, he forgets that for sixteen years the PDP, his party, mismanaged the commonwealth of the people, forsaking prudence and the need to give the country a sound economic direction. So today, whilst Buhari is saddled with the task of redirecting Nigeria and bringing the much needed change to steer us towards economic growth and development, the likes of Fayose like the class rascal resort to mischief making.

Like Wilson Tagbo in Anezi Okoro’s ‘One Week, One Trouble’, the enfant terrible in Fayose has resorted to One Week, One tactless chinwag! And if his gaffe on the federal allocation wasn’t enough, Fayose chose again to amuse Nigerians on the appointment of Professor Mahmood Abubakar as the new INEC helmsman. No sooner had the appointment been announced, our dear Fayose began heckling Buhari, wondering why he hadn’t appointed a Nigerian of southern extraction to head the nation’s electoral body. He also accused the Northerners of dominating the leadership of the electoral body from independence till date. One wonders where it is stated in the constitution that governs Nigeria, the electoral act or perhaps a judicial pronouncement that the INEC helmsman must come from another zone, outside that of the president. That is should the president be a Christian and Igbo like myself, then automatically we must shop for a Muslim and northerner to head the electoral body as if both offices are predetermined and there is need for such balancing.

Fayose forgets that under leaders like President Obasanjo both as a military and civilian leader, FEDECO/ INEC had the likes of Michael Ani, Abel Guobadia and Maurice Iwu. Also on the domination of Nigeria’s electoral bodies by northerners, Fayose is like someone doing bata dance steps to a ballet song, I mean the list of Eyo Ita Esua, Victor Ovie Whiskey,Eme Awa, Humphrey Nwosu, Dagogo Jack, Ephraim Akpata and Professor Attahiru Jega, shows Professor Jega as the only Northerner and thus the talk of northern domination needn’t arise.

Finally, it is very obvious that Fayose’s posturing is an attempt to gain traction in the Nigerian political firmament, a vice presidential ticket he believes might be his, if he keeps up with the heckling or so he thinks. But he should be told that it’s always no use running when one is on the wrong road!

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