Ekiti 2022: Direct Primary Will Checkmate Imposition, Says Bamisile

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

A member of the House of Representatives and an All Progressives Congress (APC)aspirant for the 2022 governorship election in Ekiti State, Hon Femi Bamisile, has stated that the direct mode of primary election proposed to be deployed to select the candidates will checkmate imposition.

Bamisile, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FREMA), commended the ninth National Assembly for the speedy passage of direct primary bill, saying assenting to the bill will be President Muhammadu Buhari’s best legacy for Nigerians.

The lawmaker also urged the government to proffer solutions to youth unemployment and its direct negative impacts on security, revealing that he had sought federal employments for 52 jobless graduates in his constituency within the last two years.

The representative of Gbonyin/Emure/Ekiti East federal constituency stated this in Omuo Ekiti yesterday while distributing federal appointment letters to 10 youths as well as rounding off the free petrol scheme to commercial motorcycle riders across the state.

On how the APC candidate will emerge, Bamisile said: “The bill passed by the National Assembly has changed the dynamics of politics in the country, where a few are put together to select a candidate that will represent a whole, which was undemocratic. “If signing the bill into law would be the only legacy Nigerians will get from President Buhari, they will be happy, because it represents giving power back to the people. So before you can become anything, you have to return to the grassroots and consult with them.”

Bamisile boasted that the APC will win the June 18, 2022, election on the strength that the primary is now the business of all card- carrying members, which he said would give room for a popular candidate to emerge.

The APC chieftain said the federal government is working hard to combat insecurity in the country, regretting that the situation looks uncontrollable because the criminals are deploying sophisticated tactics to resist attacks.

“Let me also say this, we need to address this unemployment issue. The unemployed youths want to survive. Nigerian universities graduate over a million people yearly. How many can get jobs?

“I promised 100 jobs for unemployed graduates during my campaign, I have done 52 and I promise that I will meet the target before in 2023,” he said.

Bamisile, while addressing the new federal employees, urged them to be dedicated to duties, adding that the opportunity will help in reducing poverty among Ekiti residents.

The APC chieftain commended the state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, for his ‘excellent performance’ in the last three years, saying such would also help the APC to triumph in the coming gubernatorial election.

Bamisile further described the parallel executives composed by the pro-Bola Tinubu group, Southwest Agenda for 2023 (SWAGA) in Ekiti State as an afterthought, saying the party won’t lose sleep over that.

“To me, that parallel executive was an afterthought. At the credible and transparent state congress we conducted, which was attended by INEC and National Committee of APC, I moved a motion for the adoption of state secretary through consensus.

“The question is: ‘why should they come out five days after the congress and set up a parallel executive? Whoever did that should have a rethink, and think about the party,” he said.