Ekiti State Commissioner for Utilities Bamidele Faparusi has advised Governor Kayode Fayemi against picking the party’s candidate for the June 18, 2022 governorship election outside Ekiti South Senatorial District.
He said it would be tantamount to monumental error and disrespect to the sensibilities of the people of Ekiti South for the governor to abandon zoning being agitated by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
He advised Fayemi and the leadership of the party to avoid what he called illegal manoeuvres in picking APC standard-bearer for the election, saying only a southern candidate can secure landslide victory for the party.
Faparusi said politicians from the zone would resist attempt by anyone to subjugate the voices of Ekiti South citizens and render them irrelevant and inconsequential in the state’s political equation.
The former federal lawmaker said: “Two senatorial zones have been exchanging the batons of leadership since 1999. This to us in Ekiti South is unjust, unfair and sinful.
“My thought is not different from what Ekiti people are saying on the streets that there is power imbalance in our state. The Central had served for 11 years, while the North had served for 11 years, leaving the South in the lurch.
“This issue is a matter of equity, fairness and justice. The political parties must ensure that they embrace zoning. The average voters on the streets said they prefer a candidate from the South in 2022; the noise was becoming deafening for those who care to listen.
“It is going to be in the best interest that the candidates from parties are picked from that zone. It will be a costly mistake if my party, the APC, should do otherwise. I am still very confident that the stakeholders will look towards the South and get a viable candidate from that zone that can deliver for our party.”
Debunking the rumour that someone had been endorsed, Faparusi said: “Governor Fayemi has not endorsed anyone. They want to curry the governor’s favour and mislead our leaders, party that they have the support of the governor.
“I am an insider in this government and one of the critical stakeholders. There was nowhere where it was discussed that a person should be endorsed and if the governor would do that, such person must be from the South.”
Faparusi, who described himself as a pro-Ekiti proponent, who is incurably averse to sectionalism, said his main and principal agenda is that every section of the state must have a sense of belonging in Ekiti governance.
“My agenda is that of Ekiti people. Another agenda is that the APC must win the coming election. We don’t want to pick our candidate by error; we can’t afford to lose because Governor Fayemi has done a lot of work in the last three years to put Ekiti back on track.
“The best thing for APC is to align with the public opinion, so that we won’t be swimming against the tide. Ekiti APC is one, though you may have groups and interests and there are mechanisms the party can use to handle such,” he added.
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