N852.9m Ekiti SUBEB Fund: Fayemi not cleared by any panel, he collaborated with bank to defraud Ekiti – SUBEB Chairman

Chairman of the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB),

Senator Bode Ola has described as false, media reports that former

Governor of the State and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr

Kayode Fayemi was cleared of any complicity in the alleged

misappropriation of N852.9 million fund belonging to SUBEB.

Senator Bode Ola told journalists in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, that “From

the content of the committee report being referred to, it is clear

without any ambiguity that financial crime was committed. It was

established that the Ekiti State Government under Dr Kayode Fayemi

fraudulently obtained loan from the Bank and moved the fund out of the

SUBEB account one year after.
“The loan was gotten from the bank without agreement as to interest

rate, terms of payment and no Irrevocable Standing Payment Order

(ISPO).
“How could the said bank that Fayemi collaborated with to defraud

Ekiti and caused the suspension of the State from benefitting from

UBEC funds, have granted loan without first agreeing on interest rate

and terms of payment?
“The money was paid into SUBEB Account in November 2013, while it was

moved out of the account in October 2014 – close to one year after the

money was paid and used to access UBEC matching grant and contracts

awarded.”
Senator Ola disclosed that “the committee, report of which is now

being celebrated just to confuse the public because of the Judicial

Panel of Inquiry set up by the government to investigate the financial

activities of Fayemi’s government, was just for fact finding and not

to indict or exonerate anyone.”
He said the committee was set up so as to enable SUBEB to respond to

UBEC and also remove the embargo placed on Ekiti SUBEB by the UBEC.

The SUBEB Chairman disclosed that “On April 16, 2015, UBEC wrote a

letter to the Ekiti SUBEB in which it said clearly that the action of

the government constituted serious financial crime and also violated

Section 11(2) of the UBE Act 2004 and also went further to threatened

to report to the EFCC if the N852.9 million counterpart fund was not

returned.”
He said “While we do not speak for the State Government, we make bold

to say that assuming but not conceding that the said report actually

exonerated Dr Fayemi, he should rather use it as part of his defense

at the Judicial Panel of Inquiry rather than running to the media to

deceive the public.
“Also, if the committee actually exonerated Dr Fayemi, what then was

the need for him to seek court injunction to stop the Judicial Panel

of Inquiry?
“Most importantly, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry was not set up to

witch-hunt anyone and its terms of reference go beyond the SUBEB

issue.
“Finally, we wish to urge Dr Fayemi and his men to seize the

opportunity of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry to clear their names of

any allegation leveled against them instead of seeking to deceive the

public with false media reports.”