Ekiti 2018: APC ticket is not for any zone, back Oyegun to conduct credible polls - Bamidele tips party members, eyes seat
Opeyemi Bamidele, a member of the seventh House of Representatives and governorship aspirant, has advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) to focus on conducting a credible election, and not talk about zoning in Ekiti.
- Opeyemi Bamidele, a member of the seventh House of Representatives has said that the date for the state governorship polls is not the best time to make the ticket an exclusive right of any zone
- Bamidele said that instead, the state should deal with the pressing issue of poverty and making efforts to ensure a credible election
- He dismissed the claim that some people were plotting to manipulate the electoral process
Opeyemi Bamidele, a member of the seventh House of Representatives and governorship aspirant, has said that the Saturday, July 14, governorship election in Ekiti state is not the right time for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to make the ticket an exclusive right of any zone.
Bamidele said what the party should strive for is how to produce the most acceptable aspirant to win the election before thinking of zoning, adding that this is the best option for the party to win the election.
He also lent his support to Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the national chairman of the party, on his decision to conduct credible primary in Ekiti and dismissed the claims that some people were plotting to manipulate the process, The Independent reports.
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Bamidele added that the clarifications given by Chief Oyegun had diffused the already mounting pressure among aspirants and had stabilized the party to be able to muster enough cohesion and forced to confront the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He referred to the agitation for zoning in some quarters as not being outrightly wrong but not in keeping with the party’s constitution as well as the political needs of the time.
Speaking in Ikere Ekiti on Wednesday, April 4 at a youth forum organized by Ekiti Youth Alliance(EYA), a group that had adopted him as its candidate, Bamidele urged the proponents to place a high value on how the party can win the coming election. He resolved to serve as the party's candidate, should it fail to produce one.
He remarked: “Though I am from the Ekiti central senatorial zone, but I remain an ardent believer in the doctrines of equity, justice, and fair play., with a strong belief that eligible citizens of every part of the State deserve to occupy the exalted seat.
“Apart from my reservation that Ekiti is basically homogeneous without biases for segregations in terms of ethnicity and religion, this time is not auspicious for APC to adopt that, as it could lead to colossal failure.
“Let us field the best candidate wherever he might come from. APC will be making a fatal mistake if the agitation scales through.
"All we need to do now is to get our strategy right by conducting untainted independent poll and know who can deliver for our party, be he from the south, the north or the central part of the State. I see a common problem in Ekiti and this problem has no souther, northern or central version:
"It is POVERTY, which stares everyone in the face and needs to be confronted headlong through good governance and a new political order led by a credible individual with scientific understanding of what is wrong and what ought to be done to bring the glory of Ekiti State back from sabbatical.
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“The achievements and strength of any political party is measured by number of elections it won. APC may end up battling for so long to regain reckoning if it loses the coming election in Ekiti.
“This advice is not targeted at deriding or to pour invective on the proponents, they are fighting a good course. But we must be circumspect that we are in the opposition and we have to think of the right strategy to win and forget about outpouring of emotions that won’t take us anywhere, especially when the APC constitution does not advocate for zoning.’’
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that the Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, had stated that his deputy, Kolapo Olusola, would have a very easy victory in the July 14 gubernatorial election as a result of his administration's performance.
The governor made the comments during an interaction with stakeholders in the state’s education sector in Ado-Ekiti.
Governor Fayose warns Nigerian youths ahead of 2019, tells them what to do - On NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng