By; OLADELE ADEDAYO, Ado-Ekiti
As the next governorship election in Ekiti State draws near, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Bamisile, has expressed optimism that the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in the State will break the continuity jinx at the poll.
Bamisile,who is representing the Ekiti South Federal Constituency 11 in the House of Representatives,said the party will guard against mistakes that led to the loss the party suffered in the 2014 poll, when Governor Kayode Fayemi lost reelection to former Governor Ayodele Fayose of the People’s Democratic Party.
The lawmaker, who is superintending over committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in the lower Chambers of the National Assembly, dispelled the widespread rumour that FERMA is about to be scrapped, saying it would rather be restructured to be able to deliver dividends to Nigerians.
Speaking with journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Monday, Bamisile appealed to party members to close ranks and work with Chief Paul Omotoso-led State executive committee to be able to install a governor that would take over after Fayemi’s exit.
He said: “We will win back -to -back. I know it is realisable, but what it entails is unity and hardwork. I am assuring you that we will make it happens this time.
“This will mean the our party won’t make a mistake by putting forward a wrong candidate. If we do the right thing, we will win and I know that governor Fayemi is an experienced politician. We had made similar mistake in the past and such will never repeat itself.
“I am particularly happy that out party has been taken away and brought back to the people with the way President Muhammadu Buhari is handling the party. If you are unacceptable to the people, you are not likely to get the ticket or wins the election now with the way things are going .
“If an aspirant is not popular but was imposed, you are likely going to win the election. Though the party also matters, but winning elections is now largely about personality”.
On his governorship ambition and how prepared he is for the herculean task, Bamisile said: ” I have prayed to God, I have told the governor too who is our leader that I am ready for the job.
“I am still consulting with party leaders and members. I have done wider consultations and doing things that will affect the lives of the generality positively by distributing free petrol to commercial motorcycle riders. I am working rigorously at the grassroots. We knew that the PDP too has been working, but governor Fayemi and all of us will do the needful and ensure we put our house in order this time”.
Bamisile, who is from the South Senatorial district that has been agitating for the coveted seat, stated that though he was not one of the advocates of this, but described it as a factor that would also swing votes for the party in 2022.
“Governorship is not anyone’s birthright. We should not sit down and expect the seat to fall on their our laps cheaply. There must be negotiation, consultation, and horsetrading for us to get the ticket. southern governors are pushing for presidency and their northern counterparts said no, you can’t bully us to accept it. It has to be by negotiation and consultation, that is democracy.
“As much as I believe the APC must be fair to the South that has not produced any governor since 1999, we should also come out of our comfort zone and earn it, we must work for it”.
The lawmaker clarified that FERMA won’t be scrapped as being insinuated, saying the National Assembly is only trying to restructure and make it stronger .
“There is this bill that has been passed in the senate. When we got there, we looked at the bill that brought FERMA in 2002, it is different from how we operate it as we speak. We have several questions and why you don’t see me on that bill is strategic.
“We are not scrapping persay, FERMA would still be there, we are changing the name, so it makes it autonomous. We are asking that it doesn’t sit under Ministry of Works”.
