Adebayo Adenrele
The Chairman of the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Paul Omotosho has expressed delight over the return of the former member of the House of Representatives, Bimbo Daramola to the party in the state.
Hon. Omotosho who received the former lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he contested the 2023 general election for a seat in the green chamber, alongside his over 1,000 supporters in his Ire-Ekiti Ward two, Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti state on Friday, said he was instrumental to the formation and development of the APC in the state.
The party chairman who described him as an asset to the ruling party, declared that those who were against his return to the party he laboured to build years ago were enemy of the state.
According to him, the party stakeholders in the state prevailed and begged him to return to the APC in view of his impact in the society and the values he would add to governance in the state and country.
He maintained that the returnee had reasons to leave the APC last year due to the alleged injustice melted on him and his supporters, applauding him for listening to all pleas to return to the party.
Omotosho stated that Governor Biodun Oyebanji was determined to engage and collaborate with every stakeholders in the party and beyond, towards delivering his six-point agenda to the people of the state.
He assured the former lawmaker and his supporters that they would be fully integrated into the party.
According to him, ” We are happy to receive and accept back to our party one of our brightest star in Ekiti state and the country. Honourable Bimbo Daramola is an asset to our party and whenever we are writing the history of the APC in this state, it won’t be completed without him.
” We were pained and worried when left us last year due to some issues then in the party. After the general election, we started begging him to return to the party because we know what we lost. We lost so many members when he left APC and now that he has returned, our party will be more stronger.
” At the point of death few years ago, he stood with APC and said he was ready to die. He is not a stranger to us and I will say we will accept him wholeheartedly and nobody must stop him, there is no discrimination and anybody that is not happy with his coming, such person is an enemy of the state.”
In his response, Daramola commended the party chairman and governor Oyebanji for the role played in his return to the APC, assuring them that he would be more committed to the success and development of the party.
He recalled his interventions in the socio-economic development of the state in the area of infrastructure, and human capital development which he said was the essence of politics and governance.
“I am happy to be back in the APC after few months of being away due to some reasons in the past that I am very emotional about
“The circumstances which I left particularly about two people who didn’t want me to breathe is not palatable. Now that those people are out of the way, I feel I am now comfortable and the new governor, Biodun Oyebanji has earned my support, among other reasons for returning to the party.
“For the past eight years, I didn’t drink a cup of water in APC. I left the parliament in 2015, but we were undeterred and now you can see whole lot of people who trooped out to follow me back to the party.
“I am ready to add value and improve the lives of our people now that I am back to the party, we laboured to form and build.”
