Politics
Ekiti Central 2023 elections: Senator Bamidele screened, says he will not take unopposed ticket for granted
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, who also doubles as Chairman of Southern Senators Forum of the 9th Assembly, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, has said that he would never take the decision of the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State to return him back to Senate through an unopposed party ticket for granted.
Senator Bamidele in a statement issued by his media office after he was screened by the APC Senatorial Screening Panel in Abuja pledged to do everything humanly possible to ensure that the party emerged victorious at the forthcoming June 18, 2022, governorship elections in the State.
He commended the Screening Committee for proper organisation and conduct of the screening process .
Speaking on his unopposed aspiration in Ekiti Central Senatorial District, he said, “I do not take it for granted that I am being returned unopposed as the flagbearer of our party in the 2023 Ekiti Central Senatorial elections.
“It means so much to me, I am grateful to the leadership of APC in Ekiti State and grateful to the leadership of the party at the National level. I am also grateful to the people of Ekiti Central Senatorial District for this honor. I don’t take it for granted at all. That no one is running against me in this race for the ticket of the party is an endorsement of my humble efforts in ensuring effective representation in the Senate in the last three years.
“It is also an acknowledgment by the leadership of the party and members of the party that I could be entrusted with the position of an elected Representative of the people and one of the leaders of our people in this tough time.
“It is not that we don’t have equally qualified people or eligible people who can obtain the form. But the fact that this has not happened and the leadership of the party has done so much to ensure that I am given a smooth ride to be the candidate of the party, is, to me a sincere and profound effort and from whom much is given, much is also expected.
“It is a call to further and greater duty. I will do everything possible to ensure the unity of the party through meaningful reconciliation where it is still necessary to do so and to ensure to drive a process in which there will be integrity and mutual trust.”
On Ekiti Governorship Election, he said, “Going back home, we have an immediate assignment, which is to go and campaign thoroughly and vigorously to ensure the victory of our party in the June 18 Governorship Election in Ekiti and I believe that is the next assignment I am looking forward to and I will put in my best in this regard by the Grace of God.”
The immediate past deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Rivers State, Dr Emana Ambrose Amawhe has resigned her membership of the party with immediate effect.
In a letter dated 28th March, 2025 addressed to the Chairman of Edem Odo Ward in Akpabuyo Local Government Council of Cross River State, she said, her resignation was with immediate effect.
She pointed out in the letter that her resignation should not be taken lightly, while she reaffirmed her commitment to and readiness to serve the government of Cross River and Nigeria in general in any capacities.
She said, “I am writing to formally resign my membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with immediate effect.
”I sincerely appreciate the opportunity given to me over time to contribute my quota to the growth of the party and the chance to serve as the Deputy Governorship Candidate in the last general elections.
”It was a privilege to be part of the PDP’s vision and engage with our people in meaningful ways. However, after much reflection in light of the current state of affairs within the party, I believe it is time for me to move on.
“This decision was not made lightly, but I remain committed to serving my community and contributing to the progress of our state and nation in other capacities.”
Ambrose-Amawhe was the running mate to Senator Sandy Onor in the 2023 governorship election in Cross River.
She had also contested for the House of Representatives seat for the Bakassi/Akpabuyo/Calabar South Federal Constituency under the PDP.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Rivers State Chapter, Chief Tony Okocha, has defended the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in the state, citing escalating security threats.
According to Chief Okocha, Rivers State was on the brink of anarchy due to increasing security concerns in various parts of the state.
Okocha made this statement while addressing journalists at the APC headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
Justifying the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the declaration of a state of emergency, Okocha commended the President for his “timely” intervention and criticized those opposing the decision.
“The state of emergency called by Mr. President saved Rivers State from anarchy. When you see non-state actors brandishing guns and making statements that promote lawlessness, then you should know there is a problem.
“I see some people jumping onto television platforms to cast aspersions on Mr. President and condemn what they do not understand. Mr. President knows more than they do.
“The truth of the matter is that Rivers State was headed towards anarchy. We all know Rivers is one of the states that sustain this country. Some of the same people criticizing the President now would have also condemned him if he had done nothing.”
Chief Okocha also questioned the silence of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) when the Rivers State House of Assembly complex was demolished under Governor Fubara’s administration.
“Thank God, President Goodluck Jonathan has been president, General Obasanjo has been president, and they know that every day on their table, they receive security reports.
“I hear the NBA saying the suspension is an affront to democracy. But when the assembly complex was burned and the next day, eleven pieces of equipment were deployed to demolish it, the NBA was silent. They were alive, yet we didn’t hear anything from them”, he said.
Reacting to criticism over why the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was not sanctioned despite allegations that he contributed to the unrest, Okocha argued that Wike was not involved in the crisis.
He said, “For those asking why the Governor and members of the State House of Assembly were suspended but not the Minister of the FCT—was he in the frame? The answer is no”
Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 general election, Adewole Adebayo said, God has told him that the party will produce the next president in 2027 general election.
Speaking over the weekend in Abeokua when he met the members and executive who were led by the State Chairman, Yinka Ola-Williams, said he could confirm that a President of SDP will mount Aso Rock villa in 2027.
“One thing that God is telling me is that there will be an SDP president in the villa in 2027.
“For the first time in a long time, we will have people who care for the people. Let’s remain focused. The problems of Nigeria are our problems, not individuals.
“We are not against Tinubu as a person but we are against hunger, inflation, poverty, insecurity, unemployment. That’s what we are against,” he said.
Buttressing Adebayo’s position on modalities of joining the party, the SDP Chairman in Ogun State, Mr. Yinka Ola-Williams, disowned 30,000 membership cards and registers allegedly being flaunted by one of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirants in the 2023 governorship election in the State.
Ola-Williams said the party’s door is widely opened to anybody who wants to join, but such a person or group, no matter how highly placed, must follow the procedure as laid down in the party’s constitution.
He emphatically stated that the party had nothing to do with the membership cards and registers claimed by the aspirant, who said he got them from the party’s National Secretariat.
“We want people to join us, and we want to work together to provide a better government than what we have now that will remove poverty, provide a better healthcare system for people, improve education and all.
“But not that they come to the party, hijack the party and take the structure away. That’s what we will not agree,” Ola-Williams said.
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