The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has revealed that the Federal Ministry of Finance has released the N1.1 billion Budget Support Fund for Ekiti State that it seized about two weeks ago.


In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti, he quoted the governor as saying that the Federal Ministry of Finance had communicated state officials on the release of the money

“I don’t want to join issues with anybody on the allocation, it is a statutory allocation for all the states, I can confirm to you here that by Tuesday next week, we will get the bank alert for the money, an official communication on the release was passed to me on Thursday,” the governor said.

The money was initially paid into the account of the state penultimate Thursday, but was withdrawn a day later for reasons not disclosed to Ekiti State Government officials.

The development compelled Governor Fayose to go to the headquarters of the ministry in Abuja last Wednesday to officially protest the action.

A statement by the ministry said the money was withheld because the state did not fulfill some obligations, a claim promptly denied by the state government.

In a swift reaction, Governor Fayose, who spoke through one of his aides, Mr Lere Olayinka, said the explanation was an afterthought meant to mislead the public.