As controversy continues to surround the new Government House in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has accused his predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, of telling lies about the actual cost of the project.
The governor said the total contract sum for the ultra-modern Oke Ayoba Government House was N3.38bn and not N2.1bn as claimed by Fayemi in a recent interview.
Fayose, in a release by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, on Monday, said the contract was initially awarded to Kouris Construction Nig. Ltd on July 27, 2012 for N2, 054,573,822.00 while additional contract of N730, 186,636.87 was awarded on October 10, 2014, six days before the expiration of Fayemi’s administration.
He said, “Apart from the additional contract of N730m, another contract worth N604,961,645.72 for the furnishing of the Government House was awarded to Kitwood Nigeria Limited on June 18, 2014, three days to the governorship election that he (Fayemi) lost.
“If Fayemi and his men lack knowledge of simple arithmetic, we will help by telling them that the addition of N2,054,573,822.00, N730,186,636.87 and N604,961,645.72 will be N3,389,722,104.59 (N3.38bn).
“Now, we ask, is Fayemi saying that as the governor then, he lost control such that he was not aware that the two additional contracts were awarded on June 18 and October 10, 2014?
“If Fayemi did not authorise the two contracts, shouldn’t he simply ask his Chief of Staff, Yemi Adaramodu, in whose office the contractors signed the contract agreements?
“In saner climes, Fayemi won’t have the effrontery to defend his use of borrowed fund to build Government House, pavilion and civic centre, when a life-touching project like the Oba Adejugbe General Hospital was left uncompleted”.
