Ekiti and politics of Bamidele’s suspension

The said suspension was due to his ambition to run for the governorship race in 2014 against the incumbent Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who was reported to have been endorsed by the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for a second term.According to the legislators, Bamidele’s ambition is not in tandem with the […]

The said suspension was due to his ambition to run for the governorship race in 2014 against the incumbent Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who was reported to have been endorsed by the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for a second term.
According to the legislators, Bamidele’s ambition is not in tandem with the position of their party, ACN, hence, the decision to remove him as their leader and they immediately replaced him with Hon. Robison Ajiboye, representing Ekiti North 2 Federal Constituency.
In a statement read out to newsmen and captioned: ‘Time to set the records straight’, the parliamentarians said: “In the past six months, there has been the issue of one of our colleagues, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, also the leader of Ekiti State caucus of the House of Representatives and by extension the Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Budget. Over this period, we, his colleagues have been inundated with enquiries by colleagues from other states, well-meaning Nigerians and our constituents on whose mandate we derive the legitimacy to remain in the House of Representatives, seeking to know what is going on about the hearsay that Bamidele is breaking ranks with what we represent and the ideals we share- loyalty to the cause and concern for the good people of Ekiti State championed on the platform of the ACN.”
In the thinking of the Ekiti representatives, Bamidele’s desire to contest with Fayemi does not only amount to a distraction, but also portends serious setback for Ekiti State.
They added: “As earlier enumerated, to get the state and its people to this point has taken conscious and concerted hard work over the past three years, with sleeves rolled up, hands on the plough and this is not the time to allow or entertain distractions in any form, manner or way and indeed from anybody that would set us on a path of retrogression, which is what the ambition of Bamidele signifies at this time.”
There are, indeed, many questions begging for answers from the preposterous, ludicrous and undemocratic action of the Ekiti Representatives. Is Bamidele’s decision contrary any known provision of ACN constitution?  
Many have accused the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of persecuting Governor Rotimi  Amaechi of Rivers State, because of his rumoured ambition to vie for vice presidential seat alongside a yet-to-be-known presidential aspirant from the North in 2015, which seemed to be against the wish of some chieftains of the party, who feel that Jonathan should be allowed to continue in office. ACN as a party has at several times condemned the president and PDP for the crisis that was triggered off from the whole scenario in Rivers State. Therefore, lawmakers on ACN platform, a vociferous critic of PDP and a major player in the merger arrangement of key opposition parties, cannot escape being seen as acting in the same manner. It will only go a long way in further confirming the belief of most Nigerians that all politicians are the same regardless of their political affiliations.
Good enough, Bola Tinubu, the party’s national leader, decried the action of the Ekiti caucus, saying “I have said before, any party member has a right to contest the governorship of Ekiti or any other state”.  
Following this, Minority Leader in the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, a chieftain of the ACN, reportedly said that the matter had been resolved, while disclosing that Bamidele remained the Ekiti caucus leader.   
I must say here that there’s nothing wrong in the leadership of ACN endorsing Fayemi for a second term based on his performance in office and persuading every other intending aspirants to step down for him. But where any member (as in the case of Bamidele) insists on contesting against him, ACN must create a level-playing ground and conduct a transparent primary election, for him to test his popularity and political might in the party, without taking any action to compel or railroad him into stepping down.  
Jegede wrote from Abuja<[email protected]>;