A member of the House of Representatives, Femi Bamisile, has told the All Progressives Congress to embrace and apply zoning in picking its governorship candidate for the June 18 election.
Bamisile appealed to Governor Kayode Fayemi to rectify the injustice allegedly being meted to Ekiti South Senatorial District of the state.
There are widespread claims that the Ekiti South Senatorial District of the state has been sidelined and prevented from producing a governor since the advent of democracy in 1999.
Bamisile, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), promised to prioritise leadership and good governance, human capital development, agriculture, industrial growth, among others, as cardinal objectives of his administration if elected governor.
Bamisile spoke on Thursday while declaring his intention to contest the 2022 governorship in the state under the banner of the All Progressives Congress at the party’s Secretariat in Ado Ekiti.
Stating that the issue of zoning can’t be downplayed, having assumed a national dimension, the former Speaker, Ekiti House of Assembly, said, “I want to appeal to you party leaders to listen to us on this issue of zoning.
“The Governor of Kaduna, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai wanted to contest as president, that was as at two years ago. But if you see him today, he has made a total U-turn, because he said the constitution does not stipulate zoning, but for the principle of fairness, equity and justice, that he would allow the South to take a shot.
“The Kaduna Governor was smart to learn from the mistake that happened to PDP in 2015, who reneged on the gentleman’s agreement by parties that power will rotate between the North and South. This is also in the constitution of many parties.
“I listened to Governor Fayemi about one and half weeks ago and he all the eight of us contesting for governorship are capable of governing Ekiti. We are not asking anybody to impose anyone, but you must be fair to the South, what is fair is fair. I believe in fairness.
“In fairness, Governor Fayemi is the best to have happened to Ekiti. The road from Ode-Omuo Ekiti has been abandoned for long, but he has tarred the road. The governor had done excellently well, but he needs to raise his respect by listening to this agitation from the South”.
Delivering his speech before the leaders, Bamisile posited that he is incurably committed to the transformation of the socio-economic facets of Ekiti, by offering exemplary leadership that will uplift the people out of wanton poverty and deprivation.
The federal lawmaker said the task of making Ekiti move to the point of greatness is a continuous process that must be sustained, promising to build on the legacy of Governor Fayemi to lift the state higher than the current position.
Bamisile said under his leadership, what would be paramount to him is robust leadership and good governance, one that will be strong enough to tackle youth unemployment, insecurity, inject all-inclusive governance and prioritise human capital development.
Bamisile told the party leaders that he represents a people, who are in desperate search of equity and justice in the politics of Ekiti, saying, “It is time to support the agitation of the South Senatorial zone of our dear state that has not produced the governor since the inception of democracy in 1999 so that we can continue to stand together as one”.
