$2b loan: Oyegun, Sagay, others chide Fayose over letter to Chinese govt

National chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun, and the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Anti-Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay among others have berated Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, over his letter urging the Chinese government to rescind its decision of a $2 billion loan to Nigeria.

According to Oyegun, Fayose’s criticisms of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and his letter to the Chinese government urging it to rescind its decision grant Nigeria a $2 billion loan were a display of gross ignorance.

Recall that the Ekiti State governor last week wrote an official letter to the Chinese government to abort the proposed $6b loan to Nigeria. ‎

Oyegun, who spoke to journalists in Benin at the weekend, said: “I hope Fayose did not really do what we are told he did. I don’t even think he is capable as descending into these low depth, but if he did, I feel sorry for him and the people of the state. Nigerians should ask Fayose what he was doing in China. Anyway, we are not bothered, the president is not bothered. A man who could put his father in his car boot, what do you expect from him?”

Also, condemning Fayose’s action, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Anti-Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay, said by writing to the Chinese government not to grant Nigeria any loan, the Ekiti State governor has shown that he is on a journey to self-destruction, adding that a man who is on the brink of destruction has no restraint about what he does.

He said: “I think Fayose has a problem. The way I see it is that, the man who is on the brink of destruction has no restraint about what he does. To start with, what is the business of a state governor about a loan that is being given to the Federal Government?

On whether the Ekiti State governor is right for taken the step he took, Sagay said Fayose has no business doing so.

“He has no business. In fact on the contrary, it is when a state government wants to take a loan, that it will require the Federal Government to guarantee the loan. So, he has no business at all and I regard him as being on a journey to self-destruction and I wish him luck. Let him continue to destroy himself with his mad impulses”.

In their reactions, Chairmen of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos State and other lawyers on Sunday condemned Fayose’s action, describing it as mere irritation and inconsequential.

Reacting to Fayose’s letter, a former Chairman of Ikeja Branch of NBA, Mr. Onyekachi Ubani, described the letter as of no consequence, since negotiations had already been concluded.

“The letter by Fayose is similar to a situation of bringing a motion for a court injunction for a completed act.

“This letter is a mere irritation especially coming from a sitting governor; I will urge Nigerians and especially journalists to regard his letter as nothing, but a mere irritation.

“Negotiations are already concluded and the Chinese government are willing to release funds to Nigeria.

“Although, it is very disheartening that such a letter is coming from one of our governors, but I think it serves no purpose,” he said.

Ubani, therefore, urged Nigerians to resist any act capable of disrupting the smooth running of government.

In the same vein, the Ikeja Branch Chairman of NBA, Mr. Yinka Farobi, described the letter as “over stepping of one’s boundaries”.

“Fayose was elected as a state governor and not as the president of Nigeria.

“His letter is clearly out of the purview of his powers and I seriously condemn it,” he said.

Farobi also urged Nigerians to be supportive of moves aimed at transforming the Nigerian nation for growth.

Again, the Ikorodu NBA Branch Chairman, Mr. Dotun Adetunji, described the letter as a show of rascality.

He noted that although “there is a provision for immunity for a sitting governor, there must also be a limit on the activities of a leader.”

In his words: “There are 36 states in the federation and out of these states, only one governor has courage to write to a foreign authority, urging it to refuse funds to its federal government.

“To my mind, such action is really reprehensible and should be discouraged.

“There is no problem with being an opposition, but if you want to be an opposition, you conduct such opposition in a reasonable manner,” he added.

Adetunji urged Nigerians to show support for the incumbent government in a bid to promote development.

“We must be careful as Nigerians for whatever we do today will be recorded as our history tomorrow.”

Mr. Spurgeon Ataene, a lawyer, said: “If the loan being sought by the Federal Government is for the purpose of revamping the battered economy, then we should not have a problem with that.

“The only thing we should demand from the government is that the loan should be used for the purpose for which it is obtained in the first place.

“To that extent, all Nigerians must be watchdogs and at all times demand that the benefit of the 2 billion dollar loan must trickle down to the masses.

Another lawyer, Mr. Ola Ogunbiyi, said Fayose’s action fell short of the status of his exalted office.

“Fayose is a `security risk’ working against national interest, I think he has too much freedom and should be cautioned all because we are in a democratic rule.

“What he said was wrong, we all know the loan is for our economic growth, for him to have written a letter to another country is wrong.

“The picture he tried to paint is that there is no unity, we have no united front by going to counter the action of the president.

“We all know the President is trying to pave way for the citizenry to have a good business relationship with other countries, but we can see Fayose blackmailing not only the government but the nation as a whole,” Ogunbiyi said.