Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose,
has said he patronises drinking joints every
Friday in order to get close to the ‘common
man’ in the state.
The governor said this in Abuja on Thursday
while defending the concept of “stomach
infrastructure” introduced by his government.
He told journalists that it would be wrong to
assume that stomach infrastructure meant
only sharing of food and money to the people.
Fayose said, “I also go to beer parlour on
Fridays to stay with the common men there.
Governance is not church; it is about diverse
characters and you must relate with them as
such.
“Christmas is coming, why do people go out of
their ways to be shopping or doing other
things if it is not just to make people merry?
“So, I’m grooming chicken, buying rice, yams,
plantain, and the rest of them. I am sure if I
give them to families during the festive
period, they will be happy. So, stomach
infrastructure is a way of life.”
The governor said that most people who
committed crime did so because they felt that
life was no longer worthy of living for them
and that there was no one to tell them that
there is life for them.
He said it was because of this that he set up a
department for stomach infrastructure and
also appointed a special assistant and a
personal assistant on it.
“So, my style, without apology, is that stomach
infrastructure is a way of life for me, I will
relate well with my people to alleviate poverty
and hunger,” he added.
He said that the welfare of the people in the
society mattered, hence his condemnation of
spending N3.3bn on the building of
Governor’s House by his predecessor, ex-
Governor Kayode Fayemi.
“That is not to condemn or fight anybody but I
have another instance, the University of Ado
Ekiti has most of its courses yet to be
accredited and they needed about N800m to
sort out those problems, will the governor be
living in affluence when the whole state is in
darkness?,” he asked.
On the face-off between him and members of
the Ekiti State House of Assembly, the
governor said he was already discussing with
the speaker.
He said he was sure that the leadership of the
House was ready to work with him.
He said, “I am an experienced governor and I
know the game. Very soon, my House of
Assembly will be together, working to keep
the ground running; they want to work with
me and I want to work with them.”
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