Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Former Lagos State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development and Labour Party governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Honourable Opeyemi Bamidele, yesterday picked the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaration of interest and nomination form to contest the May 5 party primary for Ekiti governorship election.
Speaking with newsmen at the party secretariat in Abuja, Honourable Bamidele who promised that he would be willing to abide by the outcome of the party primary provided it is free and fair, said he was not threatened by the aspiration of former governor of the State and incumbent Minister of Solid Minerals for the same office.
“Dr Kayode Fayemi is eligible. The world is meant for those who can dare, I don’t see him as an obstacle. I am ready to accept the outcome of the primary, once it is free and fair. I am sure, he will be willing to work with me if I win and I will be willing to work with him, if he wins the ticket.
“I hope there will be a free exercise. If the national leadership is seen to be free and fair and we have the assurance of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun the last time he came to Ekiti State. All of us must work together. That’s the lesson we took home after the last governorship election. It is no longer about any individual, it is about Ekiti state,” he said.
Appraising the development in the state under the administration of Governor Ayodele Fayose, the former federal lawmaker who described Ekiti as an agrarian state said what was lacking in the state was the right leadership to harness its resources
“I want to be an unusual governor, in the sense that I don’t want to be coming cap in hand every month to Abuja for monthly allocation. We are an agrarian state and I want to tap into our potential for agricultural produce.
“Lagos took billions of naira to Kebbi for rice farming, Ekiti can tap into that and attain the feat of food basket. We can conserve the farm produce and take it to the next step as an agro allied industry. Ekiti has enormous mineral resources and it can be in our soil in the next 1000 years except we have the right leadership.
“What Ekiti is lacking is resource managers. I believe God has prepared me and I have the state of mind to give the right leadership,” he promised.
Also addressing newsmen, another aspirant, Barrister Olumuyiwa Kolade, decried what he called the poor state of the Ekiti state economy and misplaced priorities of the Governor Fayose administration.
“Ekiti state was created in October 1996, but one thing that is certain is that there is no tangible development. You cannot see an improvement. Anybody who visited the state when it was created and now, would agree with me that there is no substantial development.
“The infrastructure that the governor is talking about is a farce. What he is talking about stomach infrastructure is nothing but a fraud,” he said.