The immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has defended his performance in office, saying he made life better for the people of the state.
The ex-governor said he could not indulge in the distribution of rice and money to woo voters, an act which is now commonly referred to as “stomach infrastructure.” He described the act as an insult to the people and a mockery of governance.
Fayemi spoke during a programme on Channels Television titled, “Politics Today” which was monitored by our correspondent, on Monday.
He said during his tenure, teachers in the state became the highest paid in the country, adding that he ensured that civil servants’ salaries were increased thrice during his administration.
He, therefore, wondered why the new Governor, Ayodele Fayose, and his supporters had been criticising him.
He said, “What they mean by stomach infrastructure abhors me and many people know that I am not going to partake in it. I am not going to go out on the streets and start distributing N200 to the people because I want people to hail me.
“I don’t come from that school of politics because it does not add value to my people; it diminishes their self-esteem, it diminishes their sense of self-worth, it really denigrates what politics ought to be about, even as despicable as it has become in our clime.
“I don’t subscribe to that. It is very easy for me, out of the N3bn average income that accrues to the state, to go out there, distribute N500,000 among street urchins and then everybody says, ‘what a good governor.’ But when someone throws N500, 000 to you and pockets N2bn of state funds and put it in a private account, is that what really people want?”
BY TOLUWANI ENIOLA