It was a festival of some sort on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, as it hosted bigwigs of the Labour Party (LP) across Nigeria as the former House of Representatives member and Labour Party (LP) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, formally declared his intention to contest the governorship of the state in the 2014 election, expressing readiness to tap from the experiences of former governors of the state.
Bamidele said he was ready to work with former Governors Segun Oni, Ayo Fayose and Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua and Kayode Fayemi, so that he could tap from their wealth of experience for the transformation of the state.
From the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Kola Ademujimi; LP National Chairman, Dr Dan Nwanyanwu; Ekiti LP Chairman, Hon. Akin Omole; member representing Ondo East/West Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Joseph Akinlaja; two-time Minister,former Steel and Power Minister, Dr Olu Agunloye, Majority Leader of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Ifedayo Akinsoyinu amongst others, the promise was the same: that LP would become the ruling party in 2014. the LP leaders also lamented that Ekiti was backward in view of the inexperience of its governors.
The governorship hopeful, who spoke during his formal admission to the LP after defecting from the All Progressives Congress (APC), declared the party's readiness to take over power from the APC controlled state government in 2014.
Describing Fayemi as an outgoing governor, Bamidele said: "I am ready to work with him as a former governor when I get to office in 2014. Fayemi has tried his best. I will give that to him.
"But the best anybody can do is his best. I am contesting because I can do better than he (Fayemi) has done. As an outgoing governor, I'm looking forward to working with Fayemi. I will complete all his ongoing projects. I will invite him to the commissioning of such projects," he said.
Bamidele, who was confident that he would emerge the governorship candidate in the party's primary and eventually win the 2014 governorship, assured that he would ensure all stakeholders in the state mattered and as well ensure democracy at the grassroots.
The lawmaker promised to continue with the projects of the governor, assuring that there would be no abandoned projects.
On his part, Mimiko, represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Kola Ademujimi averred that Ekiti State needs an 'experienced hand' just like Ondo to pilot its affairs.
Mimiko, who said Bamidele had got the necessary experience with which he could take the state to the promised land, appealed to Ekiti people to vote for LP to stop having inexperienced people as governor.
He said: "Experience, they say, is the best teacher. Everything is working in Ondo State because of the experience I had over the years. I served as commissioner in the old Ondo State. I served as Federal Minister before I was elected the Governor. So, Opeyemi Bamidele had served as commissioner for eight years in Lagos State and had acquired the experiences that would liberate Ekiti from the pangs of backwardness".
Accompanied by other members of the State Executive Council, the governor said the state would become the cynosure of eyes when LP assumes the reigns of power.
It was the formal inauguration of Labour Party in Ekiti State where the party formally received All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Hon. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, former Accord Party Chairman in the state, Alhaji Saka Adebayo and other party faithful from PDP, CPC into its fold.
Receiving the new members, Dr Nwanyanwu assured that there won't be imposition of candidates in party in the forthcoming governorship poll in the state.
Addressing the mammoth crowd, the National Chairman said the party performed well in Ondo State because the governor has no godfather.
"All the money of Ondo State, he used in developing Ondo State. He doesn't make any returns to any godfather. God, the father, is his godfather," he said.
Nwanyanwu, who described LP as the right vehicle of change and development in Ekiti and beyond, said there was no division in Ekiti LP as being portrayed by some people, he ruled out the possibility of imposition in the party.
The LP boss said that nobody would be discriminated against in the party, saying "there is nothing like new or old members. All we have in LP is one united family. We will not stay in Abuja like they used to do in other parties and impose anybody as governor. "We are going to conduct the primaries in line with the electoral guidelines and the 1999 Constitution."
On the other hand LP National Chairman, Dr Dan Nwanyanwu reaffirmed at the event in Ekiti its earlier decision of appointing former governor of Ogun, Gbenga Daniel, as its leader in Ogun state.
He party faulted the purported expulsion of the former governor from the LP by a faction of the party in Ogun State, saying it was a plot to destabilise the party's recent giant strides in the state. It stressed that the party has captured a big fish in its net by convincing Daniel to join its fold.
It was gathered that the former governor and his entourage went on a courtesy visit to the party's leadership on Wednesday in Abuja, where the LP National Chairman, Dan Nwanyanwu, charged the new LP leader to use his wealth of political experience to win the state for the party in 20I5.
He said the decision to recognise Daniel as leader of the party in Ogun State was taken because of the party's belief that his pedigree as a two-time governor of the state was enough to give the LP victory in 20I5.
Daniel had noted that he decided to lead his team of prominent persons of the party in Ogun State on a solidarity visit to leaders of the party to reassure them and Ogun people that the process of rebuilding the LP has commenced.
But a different turn was made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) saying it does not recognise the Labour Party (LP) executive in Ogun State.
Head, Political Parties Liaison in the state, Nkedife Leonard, in a letter he signed and dated December 18, 2013, maintained that the commission was not in possession of any list comprising authentic LP officers in the state.
The electoral umpire had replied to an application for the list of authentic party officers of Labour Party in the state by a magazine, La Visia Centre.
INEC said it could not confirm the party's officers since the commission had never been invited by the state LP to monitor the conduct of the party's congress.
The INEC letter reads in part, "I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 18th December, 2013 on the above subject matter.
"I am further directed to inform you that Independent National Electoral Commission has never been invited to monitor the conduct of the congress of the Labour Party in Ogun State and so there is no way, we could attest to the authentic list of the party officers. INEC does not have any list of Labour Party executives.
"Prior to the 2011 general elections, we had in our records the address of the party as being at 8, Bridge Street, Lafenwa Abeokuta. But since then, there has not been any correspondence with the party."
This development might have been a serious knock to the party in the state following unresolved crisis between acclaimed state executive and former governor of the state, Chief Gbenga Daniel.
The Olabode Simeon-led state executive had last week announced the purported suspension of Daniel, an action which was later reversed by the national leadership of the party.
But the Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko and the party's national chairman, Comrade Dan Nwanyanwu, waded into the issue at a meeting in Akure, last week.
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