By Ayodele Abere.
The Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial Distinct of Ekiti State at the National Assembly, Abuja and candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming National Assembly elections, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB) has given reason why the people of the District should trust him for the second term and vote for him on the election day.
The distinguished Senator, while interacting with journalists after the inauguration of Tinubu/Shettima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council held at the Council Secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, the State capital said, his people believe that he has been adequately and credibly representing them in the Senate.
According to him, “it is the consensus that I had a good time as the first time senator. That explains why the leadership and membership of the party resolved on their own to give me an unopposed ticket, an automatic ticket to go back for the second term. And I also believe that the people of Ekiti Central, beyond the party that I represent have a consensus that I have done well representing them by the grace of God.
Giving credence to his former boss and political leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on why BAT remains the Candidate to beat in the contest going by his antecedents. The law maker explained that Asiwaju, who was the Governor of Lagos State for eight years and that by the grace of God, he was privileged to be an integral part of his administration thereby giving him the privilege of discerning the personality of Asiwaju and what he has in stock for all Nigerians.
“I served in his cabinet as Special Adviser. I served in his cabinet as Honourable Commissioner and after that, I also served in the cabinet that took over from him under Babatunde Fashola SAN. So for eleven and a half years in a roll, I was a member of the cabinet of Lagos State. I was there to see what Asiwaju was capable of doing and under his watch, we created a new Lagos. Anyone that goes to Lagos today, will know that it’s not the same Lagos you knew before Asiwaju came in.
“There was a Lagos of refuse, there was a Lagos of insecurity, there’s a Lagos of transportation and traffic chaos. All of those have become a thing of the past and they are taking it beyond the current level to also deploy the train infrastructure technology across the state. Red line, blue line, yellow line are all taking off in Lagos.
“So essentially, a new Lagos is created and all we are trusting God for is that Nigerians will give Asiwaju the Presidency of this country so that he’s able to replicate what he did in Lagos all across Nigeria. Why was he able to do all these? It wasn’t by any magic. One, because he has a thorough understanding and a scientific understanding of what is wrong and what is to be done.
Stressing further, “because Asiwaju has an unusual capacity to identify talents and deploy such talents on the society for creativity and development. I have no doubt that from every nook and cranny of this country, Asiwaju will be able to identify and deploy such talents on Nigeria. I cannot really wait for an Asiwaju Presidency because I know that with him, our story cannot be the same as a nation.
Also, on the support groups and why almost everyone wants to be part of the moving train of Asiwaju, MOB said, Asiwaju is not a poor man and that at the same time, Asiwaju does not have enough money to run the campaign to be president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For a lot of people that are involved, is not just about money, a lot of people are spending their own money and talking of the support groups, people started forming support groups in the last two years even before Asiwaju won the primaries of the party and he didn’t give anybody any money to form or run a support group. Said Bamidele.
“As a matter of fact, more than eighty per cent of the support groups that we have across the country, Asiwaju has not even met with the leadership. In every State even in Ekiti, we had to encourage all of them to start registering with the party. So nobody gave money to anyone to start the support group. People are doing this as an answer to a popular aspiration that they feel Asiwaju represents. People are donating their resources across the country to run a campaign for him because they believe that with him, the story cannot be the same.
“In the course of it, funds will be deployed because it will get to a point that if people are moving from one state to another to run a campaign, if people are moving from one local government to another to run a campaign or people are even doing a door to door campaign, it is important also that, where people need logistic supports, such logistic supports will be provided but it is not a business as usual and is not a platform for anybody to amass wealth. What is ahead of us is much more than how much money anybody can get at this time” MOB concluded.