By Gbenga Sodeinde
A member of the House of Representatives and All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Hon. Femi Bamisile, has said he was not rattled by the alleged endorsement of the immediate past Secretary to the State Government, Hon. Abiodun Oyebanji for the 2022 governorship race by Governor Kayode Fayemi.
Bamisile said he remains one of the most experienced grassroots politicians in the state and that such endorsement, which he branded as “unpopular” can’t be a source of threat or worry to him.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency(FERMA) , said this in Ado Ekiti on Monday while donating fertilisers worth N200 million to farmers across 177 wards in Ekiti.
Bamisile , who used the occasion to speak about the Ekiti South Senatorial district agitation for zoning of the governorship tickets to the district , said it would be a dangerous mistake for the APC to ignore the deafening calls by members from the South.
He said he would plunge into the race and ensure that he wins the APC government ticket during the APC primary of January 22, to give the people of the Ekiti South their deserved reckoning in Ekiti politics.
“I am not disturbed by any unpopular endorsement . I am a veteran in politics and one more of the most experienced grassroots politicians in Ekiti politics. I know what politics entails.
“In the last governorship election in 2018, Governor Fayemi won with less than 19,000 votes, which was the least margin in the history of governorship in the state. So, someone like me can’t be troubled by any imposition or endorsement”.
Bamisile added further; “If the Nigerian populace are saying that after eight years of presidency in the North, that power should return to the South, I see no reason why after 24 years of democracy in Ekiti a particular zone is still being sidelined. This really baffles me”.
Bamisile said he had taken respite in the fact that the national leadership of the party under Governor Mai Mala Buni, had promised a free , fair and credible primary, saying he has nothing to fear with this promise .
“The national leader of our party has told us that the primary will be conducted. The party does not state that we have lost just because someone was endorsed . Let us wait and see, man had spoken, let us wait for God to do His own”.
Speaking about the importance of Agriculture, Bamisile said President Muhammadu Buhari is investing huge sum of money on farming and also counseling Nigerians on the need to embrace agriculture to bail the country out of famine and poverty.
He said the need for every productive Ekiti citizen to be encouraged to go into farming to reduce poverty and unemployment informed the reason for the support being given to farmers across the state.
“What we are giving out worth over N200 million to our farmers across Ekiti. President Muhammadu Buhari had said severally that we need to diversify away from oil and farming remains the best option where the Nigerian populace and Ekiti in particular has high comparative advantage”.
The Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN), Ekiti chapter, Mr Adebola Alagbada, applauded Bamisile’s gesture, saying the generous donation would boost food production in Ekiti.