Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
Ekiti State House of Assembly has set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the passage of a N10 billion supplementary budget by some members of the House during the twilight of the administration of the immediate past administration of Ayodele Fayose.
The committee has the deputy speaker, Olusegun Adewumi, as chairman, with Akinniyi Sunday and Fajana Ojo-Ade as members.
Meanwhile, Speaker Adeniran Alagbada and other members of the House have lauded Governor Kayode Fayemi for cancelling the education tax imposed on pupils by the Fayose administration.
Alagbada gave the commendation while contributing to a debate on the effect of the cancellation at the House plenary in Ado Ekiti.
READ ALSO: Be wary of sycophants around you, Obaseki warns governors
The speaker described the abrogation of the education tax as a burden taken away from the people and prayed that the Almighty God will continue to abide with the governor towards leading Ekiti to the right path.
House Leader on Business, Gboyega Aribisogan, who led the debate on the cancellation of the education tax, said Ekiti people had earlier rejected the tax.
Aribisogan said a religious organisation criticised and instituted legal action against the then government.
In his contributions, Minority Leader, Sunday Akinniyi, said the cancellation had made Ekiti people happier and described the action as a demonstration of the love Governor Fayemi has for the people.
Other members of the House, including Cecilia Dada, Ojo-Ade, Adedeji Michael and the Deputy Speaker, Olusegun Adewumi, said the introduction of the tax had contributed to the development of the education sector, but praised Governor Fayemi for its cancellation.
They described the action as a step in the right direction and stressed that it would reduce the burden on parents.
All the lawmakers unanimously approved the commendation contained in a resolution moved by Aribisogan and seconded by Adewumi.
Meanwhile, the state government has denied receiving N30 billion from the Federal Government as allocation.
Governor Fayemi’s Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, yesterday, in a statement in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, said: “The attention of Ekiti State government has been drawn to some malicious reports from some quarters, that the new administration has received N30 billion from the federal government in the last one week.
READ ALSO: 2019: Groups tasks Atiku on campaign team
“We would have ignored this baseless rumour that is being circulated on social media by some unscrupulous individuals but for the sake of the public, who could be misled in the process.
“The fact remains that the new administration has not received any money from the federal government or any of its agencies since its inauguration a week ago.
“As a responsible government that believes in accountability and transparency, this government will always provide correct information to the people on all its transactions and will not hide anything from the people.
“The public are thereby assured of regular briefings on the state of finances and developments in the state.
The era of government by deceit and falsehood has ended on October 15, 2018.
“The current administration is focused on meeting its obligations to workers, pensioners and the public and will not be distracted by lies being told by remnants of the crumbled Ayo Fayose dynasty.”