Ekiti 2022: Bamidele shelves court action, vows not to defect

One of the aggrieved governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has shelved his decision to challenge the outcome of the January 27th primary election in court.

Bamidele, the chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, in a statement made available to The Star on Friday, also declared that he along with his supporters will not defect from the APC.

The lawmaker said the decision was to avoid preparing the ground “for reactionary beneficiaries to take advantage of seeming lack of capacity to manage our affairs as a ruling party in the state.”

He, however, reiterated his position that the APC primaries was manipulated in favour of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s anointed candidate, Biodun Oyebanji.

Senator Bamidele had alleged that the primary election was hijacked with the distribution of election materials a day before, changing of collation centres and arbitrarily appointment of officials to do Oyebanji’s biddings to compromise and subvert the will of the people.

He narrated how campaign managers, sponsors and promoters of Oyebanji were appointed and saddled with the responsibility as Returning Officers in the 16 LGAs for the exercise.

But in the statement titled “EKITI 2022 GOVERNORSHIP PRIMARIES AND MY STAND”, Bamidele said he is not giving up on the ongoing struggle for justice and internal party democracy in Ekiti State.

The statement reads: “Today, Friday, 11th February, 2022; I choose to break my temporary silence and release a short statement with respect to the current crisis in which our party, the All Progressives Congress, is embroiled in Ekiti State. I am doing this because I am not unaware that a lot of Stakeholders, including many of my supporters, kinsmen, friends, family members, colleagues and associates within and outside Ekiti are expecting to hear from me regarding the next political move, especially in response to the manner in which I (like six other Governorship Aspirants) was treated.

“The need to widely consult in situations like these cannot be overemphasized and it is in that respect that I had spent the last ten days engaging in broad spiritual, political, legal and personal consultations and I remain entirely grateful to all those who had given quality time and attention to my matter in the course of the consultations.

“As it is today, whatever I decide to do and in whichever direction I choose to go, it is clear that I cannot possibly respond in a way that will satisfy all the shades of opinion or make all the tendencies, with varying and sometimes conflicting perspectives, simultaneously happy. I, therefore, choose this day to take some final decisions based on my personal convictions and accept responsibility for them. Sometimes, leadership is also about standing up to posit even when such positions may not be popular with some or even majority of our admirers and supporters at the very beginning and in the face of initial and raging anger and disappointment.

“Has my position changed on the fact that what took place in Ekiti on the night of Wednesday, 26th and the morning of Thursday, 27th January, 2022 in the name of Governorship primaries was a charade and sheer impunity?

No. I still strongly hold the position that it was a mockery of democracy that should be condemned by all means. Am I happy with the present political situation in Ekiti? Not at all. Am I hurting like many genuine Democrats are doing in Ekiti today? Yes. Am I convinced that failure or any further hesitation on the part of the national leadership of APC to specifically and decisively address the current and previous crises in Ekiti State would amount to playing the Ostrich and waiting for a DOOM’S DAY? Yes. Am I giving up on the ongoing struggle for justice and internal party democracy in Ekiti State? Never.

“Yet, in spite of my strong convictions as expressed above, I have come to some irreversible conclusions and these are the messages I need to pass on to all and sundry today as I temporarily break my silence on the way forward. One is to say that I have chosen to drop the option of going to Court to sue the party. The other is to make it crystal clear to everyone that both my supporters and I will not defect from APC.

“Details of the reasons which informed these choices will be communicated at a later date when my supporters and I address Ekiti people and Nigerians at large. It is not just about me. It is about the unity and progress of Ekiti State and her politically undermined and economically afflicted people. It is also about ensuring that the ground is not prepared for reactionary beneficiaries to take advantage of seeming lack of capacity to manage our affairs as a ruling party in the state. I also must coordinate and lead my own aspect of this popular struggle in a way to ensure that my supporters and stakeholders who had been isolated from the mainstream of the party become relevant again, for anything short of that can only be a highway to nowhere.

“We have all contributed so much to building this party in Ekiti State and the management as well as its decision making process cannot be an exclusive preserve of a few. That is the new reality that those in control, including our national leadership must accept OR it becomes a popular subject matter of a struggle around which a popular movement must be built. This is where I stand!”

In the controversial primaries, Oyebanji pulled 101,703 votes.

The breakdown of the votes allocated to other aspirants are as follows: Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, 760; Mr. Femi Bamisile, 400; Mr. Kayode Ojo, 767; Sen. Adedayo Adeyeye, 691; Mr. Bamidele Faparusi, 376; Mr. Demola Popoola, 239 and Chief Oluwasola Afolabi, 47.

TheStar

Ayodele Ojo