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penultimate Thursday, but was withdrawn a day later for reasons not disclosed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.
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