My constituency insisted I must run again — Sen. Bamidele

By Jude Opara

Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District has revealed that he has been granted the permission to return to the Senate by some stakeholders in his constituency who came together to insist that he runs again, because of quality representation he has given to them.

Bamidele who is also in the Senate Majority Leader stated this on Monday when he came to return his nomination forms to the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the primary election coming up later in the month.

He also said that there is nothing wrong with the consensus option of primary as passed by the National Assembly, arguing that it will rather give everyone the opportunity to contest in the election.

“Stakeholders within my central district came to me to express satisfaction about the quality of representation that I’ve been able to give by the grace of God. And all of them said none of us is running against you. You know I didn’t have to lobby for it.

“I didn’t have to do anything to discourage that. It’s just that no other person has obtained the form. And it’s not by any form of coercion.

“But that’s my own experience you know which is personal. But again like I said in the event that anyone disagrees with a consensus arrangement you know the law is that there must be primaries.

“So anyone that wants to contest will still be given a chance to contest. A consensus is only a suggestion you know which is usually a suggestion made by stakeholders within the party. But where you have anyone who is opposed to it you just have to go to parliament”.

On the consensus model of primary, the ranking Senator said; “Well again it’s all part of the democratic process. In passing the electoral bill which was signed into law by Mr. President which is now the electoral act on the basis of which this electoral process is being conducted.

“What we passed was two manners of primary election either by direct primaries or by consensus. In any case there will always be primaries.

“Even where you have only one aspirant there will still be primaries because even for someone who does not have anyone contesting the things or for someone who has been endorsed you know by consensus, everybody will still go to the ward, everybody will still participate in the primaries because there will still be the need to do an endorsement, open endorsement at the ward level”.

However, he explained that there have been situations where people agree on the consensus and it was a unanimous decision, and where they don’t agree then there will be a direct primary.