Stomach infrastructure, an insult to Ekiti people —Fayemi

The immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has
defended his performance in office, saying he made life better for the
people of the state.
The ex-governor said he could not indulge in the distribution of rice
and money to woo voters, an act which is now commonly referred to as
"stomach infrastructure." He described the act as an insult to the
people and a mockery of governance.
Fayemi spoke during a programme on Channels Television titled,
"Politics Today" which was monitored by our correspondent, on Monday.
He said during his tenure, teachers in the state became the highest
paid in the country, adding that he ensured that civil servants'
salaries were increased thrice during his administration.
He, therefore, wondered why the new Governor, Ayodele Fayose, and his
supporters had been criticising him.
He said, "What they mean by stomach infrastructure abhors me and many
people know that I am not going to partake in it. I am not going to go
out on the streets and start distributing N200 to the people because I
want people to hail me.
"I don't come from that school of politics because it does not add
value to my people; it diminishes their self-esteem, it diminishes
their sense of self-worth, it really denigrates what politics ought to
be about, even as despicable as it has become in our clime.
"I don't subscribe to that. It is very easy for me, out of the N3bn
average income that accrues to the state, to go out there, distribute
N500,000 among street urchins and then everybody says, 'what a good
governor.' But when someone throws N500, 000 to you and pockets N2bn
of state funds and put it in a private account, is that what really
people want?"