A former Chairman of Ado-Ekiti Local Government, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, has been nominated as the running mate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the July 14th governorship election in the state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
Chief Egbeyemi, according to a statement by Mr. Wole Olujobi on behalf of the JKF Campaign Office, on Thursday, “was picked after party leaders met for long hours to consider who is best suited to pair with former governor and immediate past Minister of Mines an Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to fly the party’s flag in the governorship contest.”
The statement added that “Egbeyemi’s choice came after speculations by the expectant public spread that certain eminent indigenes of the state had been picked to fly the ticket with Fayemi in the July 14, 2018 governorship poll.”
The president of Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN) in the state, Alhaja Asubiaro was recently rumoured as Dr Fayemi’s running mate, but the rumour was promptly denied by the JKF Campaign Office.
Chief Egbeyemi, 74, is an indigene of Ado-Ekiti, born to the family of the late Egbeyemi Alade and late Madam Tinubu Egbeyemi.
Egbeyemi, a lawyer and founding member of Action Congress which later transmuted to Action Congress of Nigeria which formed a component of the APC.
He had also served as Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in the state between 2002 and 2003.
He is also a chieftaincy title holder in Ado Ekiti, and he is married with children.
Meanwhile, a leader in the APC and former member of the House of Representatives, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, has congratulated Chief Egbeyemi on his emergence, saying his choice is a masterstroke.
Bamidele, in a statement on Thursday, said the choice of Egbeyemi was “a catalyst to the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming poll.”
He said in the statement signed by Ahmed Salami, that “Egbeyemi’s choice is a lubricant that would straighten all rough edges in the party and give the people of Ado Ekiti a sense of belonging in the coming election.”
Bamidele described the former council boss as “a popular politician across the state owing to his consummate and receptive nature, saying these would shore up the APC’s acceptability among the voters.”
and then