Member of the House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele has vowed
to snatch the governorship ticket from the incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi
during next year’s primaries.
This disregards reported adoption of Fayemi for a second term by ACN leaders at a recent meeting in Ado Ekiti.
In
a statement personally signed in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, Bamidele, who is
representing Ado Ekiti and Irepodun-Ifelodun Federal Constituency in
the House of Representatives, said there was no where, or any meeting
attended by the party leaders where Fayemi was adopted to run for
second term.
According to him, the report of the adoption was masterminded by some groups within the party to scheme him out of the race
The
former commissioner in Lagos State in the statement, therefore vowed to
pursue his ambition with vigour without any retreat or surrender to the
wills of his opponents
The statement read in part: “I have read
in some of the Nigerian dailies the purported report of what transpired
at the July 3, 2013, Ado Ekiti meeting of the Action Congress of
Nigeria, ACN, and I find it difficult to reconcile the reports with the
contents and actual proceedings at the said meeting, just like many
other leaders of the party who were personally in attendance at the
meeting.
“ Surely, I am amazed and disappointed that a sincere
attempt by leaders of the ACN to resolve the lingering crisis that had
existed within the party in Ekiti was mismanaged by some selfish
elements who twisted the good faith call by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on
party leaders and members in Ekiti to find an amicable manner of
resolving the said crisis, including a call on the leadership of the
party to immediately reinstate all the ward and local government
structures of the party that had been arbitrarily dissolved without
congresses and in violation of the party’s constitution
“ It was an indoor meeting where party leaders freely spoke their mind.
“
Unfortunately, those who are bent on straining my cordial relationship
with the leadership of the party went out of the meeting to give a
twisted version of the well intended advice by His Excellency, Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insinuating that Asiwaju had endorsed Governor Kayode
Fayemi for second term and ‘warned’ me to abandon my ambition.
“I
am stating unequivocally that by the grace of God and the encouragement
of the well meaning people of Ekiti State I, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele,
will be contesting election to be Governor of Ekiti State come year
2014.
“ It is an irrevocable conclusion based on popular yearnings
as well as my personal conviction and commitment to human capital
development and the creation of a new and united Ekiti
“.No one
can come between Asiwaju and I. He gave me an opportunity to serve the
people of Lagos State in a senior capacity for 11 years.
“ Having
worked as one of his committed and trusted leg boys to actualize his
dream of creating a new Lagos, I am sure Asiwaju will not begrudge me
on my ambition to work with other well meaning Ekiti sons and daughters
to take Ekiti to the next level
“It is a personal decision for
which I am willing to take responsibility, God being my strength. This
deliberate mismanagement of information, no doubt, is in furtherance of
the series of attempts to push me and my supporters out of the ACN,
“forgetting
that even if they had succeeded in doing that, it still would not deter
me from pursuing my vision and ambition on other progressive party
platforms based on divine guidance and the leading of Ekiti stakeholders
home and abroad.
“ I have an aspiration to be Governor, which is
narrow and personal to me. But I have an ambition, which is broader than
my personal aspiration and it is this ambition to see a new and better
Ekiti in place that actually unites me with Ekiti people regardless of
political, religious, social or cultural divides.”
Source: VANGUARD, Nigeria
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