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Ekiti State House of Assembly . Web image
The Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State on Saturday condemned the proposed trip by members of Ekiti State House of Assembly for a retreat in Canada, insisting that it was for a jamboree to lavish state resources.
Chairman of Ekiti PDP caretaker committee, Dare Adeleke, rejected the clarification by the Speaker of the assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, that the Canada programme, would be sponsored by willing members and not the legislative body nor the state government.
Adeleke, who dismissed Aribasoye and the state government’s explanation that the programme was self-sponsored, said it was illogical that lawmakers who had not done anything for their constituencies would commit humongous amounts to sponsor themselves to Canada for a workshop.
The PDP boss, who spoke in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said, “It is just a waste. With the situation in the country now, how can any right-thinking person be proposing embarking on a jamboree trip? This is bad, saddening, and condemnable.
“I look at it from the perspective of the economic situation of the country, I am not saying they should not brush up their knowledge, but the fact is that this is not the right time to do that.
“How can it be self-financed, who is fooling who? If they want to do that, they can pool resources together to bring a resource person from Canada. It’s a big lie, they are going there on a jamboree with state resources,” he said.
Also, the Chairman, Social Democratic Party in the state, Dele Ekunola, warned that the lawmakers’ trip should not be sponsored with government resources, saying the state could not afford such in the face of the present economic realities.
Ekunola, however, said that it was in order if the lawmakers were sponsoring the Canada trip by themselves for training sessions, saying such would contribute to moving the state forward.
Speaking on the matter, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, described the PDP chairman as an attention seeker, insisting that the lawmakers’ Canada trip was a self-sponsored programme.
He said, “I have said it emphatically that it is a self-sponsored programme. Anybody who is disputing or disagreeing with it should come out with any figure, data or fact to the contrary.
“Mr Speaker has come out to say that it is a self-sponsored arrangement. I am repeating that the state government has not committed a dime, a penny to that particular programme. The PDP are just attention seekers.”
A letter dated October 18 and addressed to the President of Ekiti Kete Canada by the clerk of the state assembly revealed the lawmaker’s intention to go for a retreat in Canada in November.
The letter also stated that the purpose was to enhance the lawmakers’ skills in handling policy complexities and to engage with the Ekiti Kete Association in Canada.
