The Ekiti State government has denied a report on its plan to shut down a Radio station belonging to a governorship aspirant and Chieftain of People Democratic Party, PDP,Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
In a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Environment, Hon (Chief) Bisi Kolawole, the state said the report was not only false, but baseless, irresponsible and a calculated attempt to whip up unnecessary sentiment against the State government to prevent it from carrying out its responsibility of protecting the lives of the people.
The statement reads “The attention of the Ekiti State Ministry of Environment has been drawn to the unscrupulous claim by Voice FM 89.9, a private radio station in Ado Ekiti that the State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose was out to close down the station because of its owner, Prince Dayo Adeyeye’s interest in the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“On September 26, 2016, the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), acting in compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Decree 86 of 1992 (Now EIA Act 2004) and the Ekiti State Environmental Protection Agency Law 2009, wrote a letter Reference Number EKSEPA/AD/Vol.II/59/71 to the developer handling the construction of Voice FM Radio mast.
The contractor was asked to submit the EIA of the tower to SEPA not later than September 29, 2016. This was not complied with.
Another letter was written by SEPA to Voice Fm on October 21, 2017, demanding for the submission of a copy of the EIA not later than November 2, 2017. Again, this demand was ignored.”
The Honourable Commissioner said that just as the EIA was demanded from Voice FM, SEPA also wrote a letter to Premier Lotto, owned by a prominent PDP leader from Ogun State, demanding for the EIA on its communication mast.
He maintained that refusal of Premier Lotto and Voice FM to comply with SEPA’s demand, the court was approached for an order restraining the use of their unregistered communication masts. The suit against Premier Lotto will come up on January 26, 2018 while that of Voice FM will come up on January 24, 2018.
“It is therefore funny that Voice FM could chose to lie to the public, claiming that attempt was being made by Governor Fayose to close down the radio station because of Prince Adeyeye’s governorship ambition. The question to ask is that, is the owner of Premier Lotto, who is from Ogun State and a strong political ally of the governor also contesting the PDP governorship ticket?”He queried.
The Commissioner further explained that apart from Voice FM and Premier Lotto, in the past, SEPA had demanded for EIA from hotels, petrol stations, religious organizations and other corporate organisations.
Kolawole said on November 14, 2017, SEPA wrote a letter to the All Saints Anglican Church, Federal Housing Road, Ado Ekiti, demanding for submission of EIA not later than November 21, 2017,
“Should we also say that the church and other establishments like hotels and petrol stations were asked to submit EIA because they were against Governor Fayose’s political interest?
he asked.
The Commissioner urged Voice FM to comply with the SEPA’s demand as per its letters of September 26, 2016 and October 21, 2017, rather than opting for outright falsehood and criminal incitement.
Kolawole also debunked a claim by Prince Adeyeye’s campaign organization and his Radio Station that the Governor Fayose was driving private investments away from the State and citing the example of GTBank .
He said GTBank operation was stopped because of the bank’s refusal to pay relevant taxes and it behooves a patriotic indigene of Ekiti State to support the government’s efforts to ensure payment of tax by corporate organizations operating in the State.
