From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has described the claim by some people that he is working against the interest of the Yoruba race as fake news, unfounded and an attempt to malign his character.
He said he has never worked against the interest of the Yoruba people, disclosing that there is no paper or bill before the Senate to debate on regionalism at the National Assembly.
Bamidele representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, dismissed the claim on Monday, in Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State, when he was distributing 5,000 bags of fertilizer to farmers and various farmers association in his Senatorial District.
The distribution captured farmers from the five Local Government Areas in the Senatorial District, namely, Ado, Irepodun/ Ifelodun, Efon, Ijero and Ekiti West.
Bamidele said, “There has been a deliberate attempt by some enemies of progress to malign my character. They have been doing so much to make me look like a bad person, but I am not worried, because the truth will definitely prevail. Some people have said I don’t want to support regional government.
” As of today, Monday, October 7, 2024, there is no bill before the National Assembly, not even a memorandum before the Senate to debate on regarding regionalism.
“All the talks that I am opposed to regionalism is fake news and unfounded. We have not had any paper to debate on. So, whether anybody is in support or against regionalism is a debate that will take place when we have a bill before us to talk about. There is no such bill and I just led all the 18 Senators representing Southwest to work so hard for the Senate to pass the Southwest Development Commission Bill, we have just passed the bill.
“So, if I had just done that with my colleagues, how can anyone whose head is working right say I am working against Yoruba interest?
“We have our Southwest Development Commission Bill, the House of Representatives has passed it and by the grace of God by the time the President comes back from his vacation we will sign the Bill into law.
“We will set up the Southwest Development Commission, the headquarters will be in Ibadan, Oyo State. The headquarters of Southwest is in Ibadan.
“We have passed a law to ensure that the interest of Ekiti and other five States are wel- protected. There will be a Chairman, there will be a Managing Director, there will be four Executive Directors ( Executive Director Finance, Executive Director Administration, Executive Director Project and Executive Director Operations). These six positions will each go to each of the six states in the Southwest and the interest of every state including Ekiti will be well -protected.
“By the grace of God, we will continue to do everything we can do to promote the interest of Ekiti, to promote the interest of the Yoruba race, to promote the interest of Nigeria because it is when there is peace in Nigeria that every tribe, every ethnic nationality within the country can have peace and that’s where I stand.”
According to Bamidele, President Bola Tinubu gave out 1,200 bags of fertilizer to each Senator in the country to distribute to farmers in their districts and 600 bags to each House of Representatives member to also distribute to farmers in their constituencies.
The Senate Leader who said the fertilizer distribution was devoid of any political coloration, was aimed at assisting farmers and investing in agriculture, noting he bought additional bags of fertilizer to increase the bags to 5,000.
“President Tinubu, as part of his short-term effort to make lives more meaningful to the people, is of the view that we should go beyond sharing rice, but that we should join in investing in agriculture.
“The president made 1200 bags of fertilizer available to every Senator in this country. The president also made 600 bags of fertilizer available to every member of the House of Representatives.
“Fertilizer distribution is aimed at assisting our farmers. It is not something for political parties; it is not something for any other person except farmers.
“I felt I needed more than 1200 bags for my district, I looked for money and got additional bags to make it 5000. So today, by the grace of God, we have 5,000 bags of fertilizer for distribution to farmers in Ekiti Central Senatorial District.”
He urged the beneficiaries not to sell.the bags of fertilizer, but that they should use them for farming.
The federal lawmaker used the occasion to appeal to Nigerians to show understanding and patience on the problems President Bola Tinubu is dealing with in the country, saying they did not start today, but were occasioned by many years of mis-governance and mis-management of the country’s resources, assuring that the story will soon change
“Today, you have a government that is not pretending about how terrible things are, but what is important is not in the situation we have found ourselves, but what is being done to take us out of the situation
“All stones have been turned to ensure that our country gets better, the President is working so hard that lives become more meaningful for the citizens of the country.”
