By Oludamisi Ojo
The Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District of Ekiti State, Opeyemi Bamidele, has indicated that he would not challenge in court, the victory of the party’s candidate, Hon. Biodun Oyebanji, in the shadow poll for the sake of unity and cohesion in the All Progressives Congress.
Bamidele who is one of the defeated governorship aspirants at the recent APC primary said though, he still harbour resentment against the January 27 primary, which he described as a sham and flagrant abrasion of democracy ethos however maintained that he won’t seek redress in court or defect from APC despite the irregularities associated with the primary
Bamidele, had shortly after the primary threatened to challenge the primary that produced former Secretary to the State Government as a candidate in a controversial fashion legally.
He alleged that it was brazenly skewed and manipulated by Governor Abubakar Badaru-led APC committee.
But in a statement he personally signed on Friday and made available to reporters in Ado Ekiti, Bamidele said he reneged on his earlier position after critical stakeholders had intervened and appealed to him to sheathe his sword.
Bamidele maintained that he was ruffled by the alleged abysmal turn the shadow poll went and the betrayal of confidence therein, but said his action didn’t connote that he had abandoned the struggle to right the wrongs and make the party truly democratic.
He said”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.
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“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”.
