In a show of personal determination and ambition, the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, has said the endorsement of Governor Kayode Fayemi by the national leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria cannot deter him from his bid to run for the governorship of Ekiti State in 2014.
Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Federal Constituency I at the lower legislative chamber, spoke through his media aide, Mr. Ahmed Salami, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Ado Ekiti on Thursday.
There has been a cold war between Fayemi and Bamidele over the lawmaker’s rumoured ambition. Although Bamidele has yet to declare his ambition publicly, his utterances suggest that he wants to contest against Fayemi in 2014 governorship poll.
National Leader of ACN, Asiwaju had on Wednesday at a meeting in Ado Ekiti endorsed Fayemi’s term bid and asked the lawmaker to drop his governorship ambition for now.
Those who attended the meeting apart from Tinubu were ACN National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former governors Bamidele Olumilua and Niyi Adebayo, among others.
But his media aide said Bamidele was not invited to the meeting which he said was supposed to be a reconciliatory meeting.
He said, “There is no going back for Opeyemi Bamidele movement. He has made known his decision before now. The meeting was called to reconcile all the warring factions within the party but MOB (Bamidele) was not invited.”
He added that Bamidele would have been attacked by hoodlums if he had even attended the meeting, which was held at the Government House.
Meanwhile, the Peoples’ Democratic Party has said Bola Tinubu did not have the power to stop Bamidele from contesting the 2014 Ekiti governorship election.
Fayemi has declared his ambition to contest for a second term.
But the PDP said in a statement by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tony Okeke, in Abuja on Thursday, that by seeking to bar persons from contesting the Ekiti state governorship election, Tinubu was being despotic.
Tinubu has been often accused of imposing candidates on the party, and not allowing primaries.
For example, the Ondo State governorship candidate for the ACN last year, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu was handpicked by the National Leader from a field of vibrant contestants such as Senator Robert Borrofice.
Also, in 2011, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi was handpicked by Tinubu much to the chagrin of other contestants, who were later pacified and offered other offices.
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