… As APC Candidate Parleys Pensioners, Private Sector, Others
Support for the aspiration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, received a major boost Wednesday, as the local government workers in Ekiti State pledged to work for his success at the July 14 poll.
The workers under the umbrella of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) made the declaration at an interactive session in Ado-Ekiti where Fayemi also met with hoteliers, pensioners, teachers and small business operators, among others.
Ekiti State Deputy President of NULGE, OB Olatunde, who represented the union President, Bunmi Ajimoko, presented the union’s demands.
While assuring Fayemi of NULGE’s support during election, he urged him to engage more local government personnel in the local government system to help him push his development agenda.
He said the union would support Fayemi because he was the only governor in the history of Ekiti State who honoured remission of 10 percent of revenue to the local governments and also the only governor that had interface with workers’ representatives regularly.
He regretted that local government workers were being owed eight months arrears, three years leave bonus and other arrears,
The workers praised Fayemi for his transparent conduct of government business, noting that he was the only governor in history who honoured remission of 10 percent of state’s revenue to the local governments.
Describing Fayemi also as the first governor to make a local government staff the state’s Accountant General and the first to send local government staff abroad for training, the union pledged to ensure his success at poll.
The Pensioners Association Chairman, Elder Ayo Kumapayi, who presented the charter of pensioners’ demands to Fayemi, thanked the APC candidate for his support for pensioners during his first time, including listening to pensioners’ advice to curb irregularities in the management of pensions affairs.
He said the number of pensioners had grown to more than 17,000 members and pleaded with Fayemi to develop strategy to harmonise pension scheme between the old and new retirees, including assisting in the building of facilities where pensioners can conduct their affairs and host pensioners.
Fayemi said as a son of a pensioner, he knew what the issues were and that guided him in the first term, promising to address pressing issues, including making payment of gratutity a priority in office.
He explained that to ensure pensioners participated in projects execution during his first term, communities were allowed to choose the projects they wanted and money released to them to execute the projects, promising to settle all outstanding pensions within six months of his administration.
He asked pensioners not to surrender their voter cards to anybody but to go out and vote on July 14.
He said his community development philosophy informed his creation of local council development areas LCDAs, even as he promised to study NULGE’s demands to improve on the local government administration for effective service delivery and better conditions of service.
He added that he never tampered with local government funds throughout the four years of administration, even as his government was the first to implement special salary for health workers in the South West.
He debunked claims that he planned to reduce council workers to 200, explaining that he created local council development areas to increase the number of local government workers.
Insisting that the return of local council development areas (LCDAs) is not negotiable, Fayemi asked the workers to examine his records and judge him, even as he urged workers to resist attempt to coerce them into submitting their voter cards to any level of authority.
NULGE presented Fayemi a life-size portrait in recognition of his friendly disposition to local government administration.
At a session with hoteliers, who declared Fayemi as the best candidate, the APC candidate said the state had the highest numbers of hotels when he was governor, explaining that besides Pathfinders and Fountain hotels that were in place before he assumed office, other standard hotels in the state today were established during his administration after providing conducive environment like security and friendly taxation regime to enable the hospitality business thrive.
Academic staff of secondary schools thanked Fayemi for giving the association recognition when he was governor, even as the association praised the APC candidate for promoting 20 teachers to grade level 17 for the first time in the history of Ekiti State.
Fayemi, who described July 14 poll as freedom election, urged them to keep their voter cards and vote for him, promising to study the association’s demands for workable solution.
He assured small business owners that friendly business environment and opportunities would be created for them to grow their businesses.
