#POLITICS : I resisted Jonathan, Fayose’s pressure to join PDP – Opeyemi Bamidele MOB

A member of the seventh House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele, said he resisted pressure from former President Goodluck Jonathan to work against the All Progressives Congress in the June 2014 governorship poll in Ekiti State and thereafter.....


He added that Governor Ayodele Fayose also made several calls and met with him to work for the party, but he said the attempts were rebuffed.

Bamidele spoke in Iyin Ekiti on Friday during a reunification rally, formalising his return to the APC with his supporters, where he was received by the Deputy State Chairman of the party, Mrs. Kemi Olaleye, and other members of the State Working Committee.

Urging the APC to learn from recent losses suffered by the party in the state, he stressed the need for unity among all members, saying no individual could unilaterally win an election without the contributions of others.

Fayose defeated the then governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in the poll, winning in all the 16 local government areas of the state.

Bamidele praised the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; former governors Niyi Adebayo, Segun Oni and Fayemi for their roles at ensuring that the party bounced back to reckoning in future elections.

The former federal lawmaker added, “I pray that God will return all our losses and this could only happen when we are one and united. APC has lost elections persistently because we are divided. Whoever knows me well will realise that I am neither a desperado nor a traitor. I have always believed strongly in the will of God.

“There was nothing the then President Goodluck Jonathan didn’t do to ensure that I stepped down for (Governor) Fayose before the governorship election, but I stood my ground as a progressive. That was why I didn’t defect to the PDP in the first place, because I was conscious of my background in politics.”