The Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has debunked claims by the national leadership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) that governors of the Southwest states deliberately shunned the flag-off of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway reconstruction by President Goodluck Jonathan at the weekend.
The PDP had in a statement by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Okeke, alleged that the governors deliberately stayed away from the flag off ceremony for “parochial partisan reasons”.
Governor Fayemi, however said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Olayinka Oyebode, that the PDP’s claim was a mere fabrication capable of misleading the general public. He added that not all the governors of the zone were invited to the flag-off, hence the question of deliberately shunning the event does not arise.
According to the statement, the Governors of the southwest states, respect the office and the person of Mr President, but would find it difficult to attend an event for which they were never invited.
The statement reads in part: “It is not true that governors of the south west shunned the flag off of the reconstruction of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by President Goodluck Jonathan. We respect the office and person of Mr President and will readily support him on any good cause such as the reconstruction of the road.
“Mr President is not unaware that the South west Governors were at the forefront of discussions to stop the badly executed concession of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by Bi-Courtney and had suggested other options to get the road fixed during a meeting with him last year, in view of the importance of the road not only to the south west but to the country as a whole.
“It thus came as a surprise that such a major ceremony could take place in the zone without an invitation from the Presidency. Instead of accusing the governors of the zone of partisanship, the PDP should have asked the Presidency why the governors were excluded.
“There is no denying the fact that the southwest governors are happy that Mr President has accepted one of the options proffered during their meeting with him on the subject of the road reconstruction last year. The Governors had during their meeting with Mr President given the option of either fixing the road themselves or the Federal Government fixing it like it is doing in all the other zones in the country. We are happy that one of the options proffered had now been accepted by the President, even as several other roads in the zone remain abandoned”
“The Governors are hopeful that the contract will be executed with good speed and with minimum inconvenience to our people.”
The statement further urged the PDP leadership to always endeavour to present correct positions of things to the public as against deliberate distortion of facts, which is usually informed by mischief.
