Niyi Adebayo (left) and Opeyemi Bamidele (right)
As the race for the governorship seat in Ekiti hots up, Labour Party aspirant - Michael Opeyemi Bamidele has criticised All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former governor - Otunba Niyi Adebayo; saying the latter is only supporting APC aspirant and incumbent - Dr John Kayode Fayemi because of "his selfish interests."
Reacting to Adebayo's claim that he was "too ambitious," Bamidele told Trumpet that: "Please don't mind Niyi Adebayo. His statement can only be likened to the rantings of an ant. He is desperately in search of a second term ticket for Fayemi to protect his selfish interests."
Speaking through Ekiti State Labour Party's Director of Media and Publicity - Mrs Bolanle Olatunde-Bruce, Bamidele added: "Go to Iyin and ask about him, he is a personae non grata. He takes the choicest contracts from Fayemi's government including the phony N2.8bn Ado Metropolis Flower Project. His immediate younger brother is Fayemi's Commissioner for Works & Transport; His wife is Chairperson, Oodua Investments; His son, Dotun is the Senior Special Assistant to Fayemi on Diaspora Matters; and five of his cousins are equally holding one appointment or the other in Fayemi's administration. Need we say more?"
Earlier, at a meeting in Iyin Ekiti, Adebayo had described Bamidele as too ambitious and a man who should not be trusted with power.
Adebayo said: "I am the one who introduced my brother Opeyemi to you and appealed to you to vote for him when he wanted to become a legislator. But less than three months after he was elected into the House of Representatives, he came to tell me he wanted to become governor. I sat him down and told him the futility of his aspiration. Because one, he has not done anything to justify the confidence of the people that put him in the House. Two, I told him Iyin Ekiti where we both come from had less than ten years ago produced a governor, that Ekiti people will see us (Iyin Ekiti) as greedy and unreasonable people if we now want to produce another governor while other towns have yet to do so.
"I then advised him to delay his aspiration till the time it would be okay for an Iyin man to come out. But he refused and said he must be governor at all cost and that he could do it alone with or without the support of the people.
"Iyin Ekiti has benefited tremendously from the Fayemi administration in terms of people-oriented projects and number of appointments. Iyin alone has about three Commissioners and other strategic appointments under Fayemi, and given the quality of work he is doing, I want you to vote massively for Fayemi."