Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State rewarded the two government officials recently released by the EFCC with exotic cars to compensate them for their arrest and detention by the anti-graft commission.
The Commissioner for Finance , Toyin Ojo and Accountant General, Yemisi Owolabi were picked up on September 28 by the EFCC for alleged misappropriation of Paris Club refund in the state and kept for two weeks but returned to the state last week to a heroic welcome reception by the people of the state.
The governor presented the car keys to the officials on Sunday shortly after a thanksgiving service to mark his third anniversary in office.
Fayose said the duo deserved to be rewarded for “enduring mal-treatment, harassment, intimation and oppression from the EFCC.”
The governor stated that the anti-graft agency’s arrest of his officials was illegal claiming that probing the use of the funds accruing to the state is solely a legal jurisdiction of the state House of Assembly.
“We have to reward you for enduring intimidation, mental and emotional torture and illegal incarceration for the sake of our state. The constitution of Nigeria does not empower the EFCC to arrest state officials over alleged graft. That function belongs to our state House of Assembly. We will sue EFCC to court for this illegality, pursue the case to logical conclusion and get damages for this ill-treatment. The constitution of Nigeria is supreme and has over-riding influence over any government parastatal such as EFCC.”
Fayose who had commissioned 16 new roads decorated with streets lights in all the 16 local government headquarters in the state as part of the celebration of his third year in office, reiterated that his government would deliver on all the on-going infrastructural and legacy projects such as ultra-modern market, High Court complex, fly-over bridge and new government office among others, also assured that outstanding salaries of workers would be paid.