By Gbenga Sodeinde, Ado Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has insisted that he appointed people of impeccable character as members of the newly constituted Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), saying anybody that has any evidence against them should go to court.
The Governor equally denied allegation by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he appointed card-carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his business associates into the Commission.
Listed as PDP members by the APC are the SIEC Chairman, Justice Kayode Bamisile (retd.), Olufunke Adeyera, Ganiyu Bello, Mojisola Bankole, Rufus Olaiya and Olajide Adeyeye.
Speaking on behalf of the State Government, Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barrister Kolade Kolapo, declared that the governor painstakingly selected non-partisan individuals into the electoral body to ensure credibility.
Kolapo, who spoke in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday at a press briefing on the activities of his ministry in the last one year, waved off allegations that card-carrying politicians were on the Commission, saying “if anybody has any evidence against any of the SIEC members he should go to court.”
The commissioner insisted that there is no going back on the local government election fixed for December 19, 2015, adding that an impartial and unbiased EKSIEC as well as other arrangements have been put in place to ensure a free, fair and acceptable poll.
The commissioner said his ministry had in the last one year settled chieftaincy matters in some communities as well some boundary disputes to ensure peace in the state.
While explaining that it was not acceptable to Fayose for any community to be without ruler, Kolade said that the administration had peacefully resolved ascendancy tussles in nine communities which had been without monarchs owing to interests from different quarters.
According to him, while the Fayose administration had installed monarchs in six communities, the remaining three traditional rulers would be presented with their staff of office within one week.
Kolade, however, lamented that some activities of the ministry, particularly in the areas of running local governments, were being hampered by lack of adequate fund occasioned by drop in revenue accruing to the state from the Federation Account.
To ensure solution, the commissioner said the ministry had resuscitated the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Forum in the local governments in order to improve the IGR collection in the councils.
