Ekiti accused of diverting FG’s N350m Fadama fund

The Ekiti State government has been accused of diverting the federal government counterpart funding released to the state for Fadama III farmers. A chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and governorship aspirant in the state, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, put the amount at over N350 million.In a statement by the Director General of the Prince Adedayo […]

The Ekiti State government has been accused of diverting the federal government counterpart funding released to the state for Fadama III farmers. A chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and governorship aspirant in the state, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, put the amount at over N350 million.
In a statement by the Director General of the Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM), Mr Bisi Kolawole, quoted the aspirant calling on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to come to the aid of Fadama farmers in the state by directing the state government to disburse the money without further delay.
PAAM said the silence of the of the state government in spite of the farmers’ agitation was suspicious, adding that; “from all indications, the state government is out to frustrate the Fadama III farmers.   
But the government denied the claim, saying there was no N350 million federal government’s Fadama counterpart funding released to it.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Jide Arowosafe said, “I am not aware of any fund from the federal government released to the state for Fadama farming.”
Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent, the commissioner said the government had disbursed about N250 million to farmers who met the conditions for such loans, adding that the government would not approve application of those who might want to enjoy the Fadama facilities through the back door.
The commissioner described the counterpart funding as a tripartite arrangement among the federal, state and local government, adding that there was no way it could be possible for the state to divert the fund.
“It is to the credit of the Fadama farmers in Ekiti State that we now have vegetables like water melon, cucumber and pumpkin in abundance in the state and this initiative must not be frustrated by the state government,” he said.
The statement further alleged that the state government was planning to divert the Fadama III fund contributed by the federal government and the World Bank to the state government’s Youth Commercial Agriculture Development Program (YCAD).
“Fadama III is for livestock farming and the fund is meant to be disbursed to livestock farmers in the state. As at today, there are over 350 applications for loan pending at the state Ministry of Agriculture. The applications are from the Fadama Users Group (FUG), with each group having ten farmers.
“The implication of this is that 3,500 Fadama III farmers are being held to ransom by the Ekiti state government, and yet, the government keeps advertising fake achievements in agriculture.
“Contributing its own counterpart fund of N100 million to the N350 million from the federal government contribution, the state government is planning to divert the Fadama III fund to buying tractors, build a silo and refurbish the state abattoir located along Ado-Iworoko, among other YCAD.  
“This amounts to misappropriation of fund and a wicked attempt to deny the Fadama farmers the financial assistance made available by the federal government.
We therefore call on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to come to the aid of Fadama farmers in Ekiti state by directing the immediate disbursement of the fund,” he said.