Ekiti 2018: Ido/Osi APC Endorses Bamidele’s Guber Ambition

As a matter of consensus, the All Progressives Congress(APC) members in Ido/Osi local government area of Ekiti State on Saturday  described the contributions of a chieftain of the party, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele as enormous and landmark in the history of the progressives in the state.

The party members said  Bamidele’s vying for the governorship will add value and brighten the chances of the party to be able to dislodge the people’s  Democratic Party in the July 14 governorship poll in the state.

The party leaders believed that  Bamidele has the capacity  to wrest power from Fayose if given the ticket, appealing to party members to rally round him as  he remains the most formidable individual that can leverage on his popularity to return APC to power.

The leaders  spoke in Ido Ekiti, headquarters of Ido/Osi local government when the former federal parliamentarian visited the party secretariat to unveil his governorship ambition on Saturday.

The APC Chairman in the council, Chief Femi Afolabi, said Bamidele has been a pride to Ekiti since his days as a commissioner in Lagos State, where he was a member of the State Executive Council for 11 years.

Afolabi  said Bamidele stood by the party during its days in the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) that later joined the merger to form APC , saying his contributions brought about the judicial victory the party recorded  in 2010.

He warned  Bamidele’s wards and local government’s  coordinators to work with him to be able to clinch the ticket, urging them to see the project as one that must be prosecuted  zealously and truthfully.

“Hon Bamidele is a humble personality that has appealed to the voters in Ekiti. His contributions cannot be overemphasized as a member of the defunct ACN. He is a personality that can really help the fortunes of our party in this coming election.

“In a political setting, there are those who are levelers. They appeal to  the masses and can help in shoring up the political victory of a appeal party and I can boldly say Hon Bamidele is one in Ekiti APC”, he  stated.

A leader of the party, Chief Segun Adelugba, averred that Bamidele’s governorship ambition is a collective project, having worked assiduously to rescue the party from the throes of oppression and ruin in the past.

“I could remember that after the 2007 elections, the ACN went to court and our people were disillusioned by that long and  lingering judicial meandering. But Hon Bamidele as a commissioner in Lagos came in one day and donated seven buses to our party in one swell swoop and that changed our fortunes.

“Even some of our friends in the PDP , who were holding political offices in the party became envious of us. We were oppressing the PDP in town because of his generosity.

“To us in APC, this is a payback time for Hon Bamidele. We thank God that  the crisis of the party has been settled and I believe that with God people like him, the party will win the next election”, he predicted.

Earlier, Bamidele averred that he didn’t see the governorship ambitions as a do-or-die , but pointed out  that “it was a project ordained by ambition God and we shall make a success of it”.

The former member of the House of Representatives added that he had made a lot of sacrifices for the party in the past and that he said he will continually do until the party stabilizes and become a darling party in the state as obtainable in Lagos State under the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

He said he didn’t do what he contributed to the party in the past to earn accolades or personal recognition, adding that every loyal party man must be keen in contributing to his party to make it strong enough to be able to win election.

“In 2006, our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu called me and the Governor
of Osun State , Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who was a Commissioner like me
in his cabinet and begged us to go to our states and contest for
governorship.

“Asiwaju nearly cried that day because the AD had lost election in other states with the exemption of Lagos. He was not happy  and we could see how unhappy he was.

“But I told him that the people of our dear State were craving for power shift to the North and that was why I supported Dr. Kayode Fayemi to be governor. I had the opportunity then but I had to put the mood in the town  into consideration.

“But let me say this and say it clearly, I have no regret supporting Dr Fayemi for the 2007 election because he did well for Ekiti as a governor.

“But I later found out that whether zoning or no zoning, Ekiti remains one. We are homogenous in all respects. Even the more terrific Kiriji War that we fought between 1877 and 1886 with our strength and blood could not divide us.

“If  Ekiti progenitors could say a war against a section of Ekiti was a slap  on our collective integrity, then Ekiti should not be segregated under any guise.

“I am contesting this election as someone from the Central where the present governor hails from because I know our state is in dire need of a good leader , who has the scientific understanding of how a modern economy should be.

“Whether North, south or central, what is paramount to me is Ekiti seen to be great and that I shall pursue vigorously if given the party’s ticket . I am here to contest election and win. I am not going to gamble with your ticket, because our people can’t be allowed to suffer again having lost power for the past four years”, he said.