The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, on Monday secured his return ticket to the Senate for the third consecutive term through affirmation.
Mr Bamidele was the only aspirant running for the Ekiti Central Senatorial district seat in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries holding today across the country.
The affirmations took place in all wards across the five local government areas in the district, with members of the party voting by voice.
Speaking after the exercise, Mr Bamidele said his affirmation for the second time, without any opposition, was because of the grace of God and because his time in the Senate has added value to Ekiti Central.
“I want everyone to know I’m also not taking this for granted. This is not the first time this has happened; it happened in 2023, when I was trying to go back to the Senate for the second time,, and I want to say that I believe it’s also partly because of the grace God has given me to truly serve the people.
“I believe that my time in the Senate has been a time that has added a lot of value to Ekiti Central. As we speak, I’m currently working on 11 different mini stadia aimed at enhancing youth development. I’m currently constructing five intensive care units.
“And aside from all of this, we have also done a lot in constructing lots of classrooms in different schools in Ekiti Central. We have given out well over a hundred transformers, and we have also installed over 6,000 solar streetlight bulbs across Ekiti Central,” he said.
Speaking on the aggrieved aspirants who lost their primary election, the Senate leader said that every contest is meant to be won and lost.
“But it’s not every contest that produces a loser. Producing a contest is not the same as being a loser. It could be that it’s just not your time. It could be that God has a better plan for you, and it could be that the circumstances or the geopolitical considerations of the moment do not support your aspiration.
“I have walked on both sides of the aisle. A lot of you were there in 2011 when I ran for the Senate for the first time. I believe I won the primary election, but it was not given to me; it was given to someone else based on the party’s geopolitical considerations. I felt terrible about it, but I did not lose hope.
“So, my advice first to the party is that the party should ensure free and fair conduct of all of these primaries to all, and my advice to those who are disgruntled also is the fact that even if they are disgruntled about the process, they should not see themselves as losers because their time will come,” Mr Bamidele said.
