‘Delegates should not be influenced by money’

Former House of Representatives member and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Bimbo Daramola is a governorship aspirant in Ekiti State. He spoke with Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU in Lagos on the conditions that will guarantee a credible primary on Saturday.

How are you preparing for the governorship primary holding on Saturday?

Everything I have done in the last 14 years have prepared me. I believe very strongly, and I have said it at various fora, that this election will be a referendum on the reputation of everybody aspiring to lead our dear state. In the past 18 months, I have been working; touring the local governments and wards, visiting the delegates, holding consultations with my leaders- Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, and Chief Segun Oni. Also, I have met virtually all the delegates, all the youth leaders of the party, the women leaders of the party, all chairmen of local governments. I am not a new entity. That must be brought to bear. I don’t need any introduction or re-introduction to any of the delegates. There is nobody who is has spent a minimum of two years in the party who does not know Bimbo Daramola, the man they call, ‘Mr. Shoot me,’ the Collation Agent during the rerun between Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Engineer Segun Oni, the Director-General of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation; the man they wanted to kill, judging by the confession of Captain Koli. They know me as the man who gave opportunities to 250 young sons and daughters of Ekiti through the JAMB forms. It is a vision that enables young men and women to have access to tertiary institution. These are sons and daughters of the delegates. They know me as a man they can run to, a man who has laid down his life for the party at a time. If this election is a about fidelity to the party, about service to the party, service to the state, I am prepared. But, if it is about how much money you can give to delegates…I am not in contest with anybody just joining the party, people whose ink they used in writing their names has not dried and they are throwing money about. It is not about title. We are not contesting against former this, former that; ex-this, ex-that. It is about your reputation; what you have done when people gave their mandate to you.

Do you have confidence in the Primary Screening Panel headed by Chief Timpreye Sylva?

I believe that the forms are explicit. The guidelines are clear. There must be a reason for screening any way. If there is no need to check the profile, there will be no need for screening. Screening means that the party is conscious of the fact that the person who will emerge as the flag bearer is somebody that the party is sure of. We aw3ait the report of the panel. Some people on the street have also conducted their imaginary screening and released their reports.

What is the level of confidence in the panel headed by Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa that will conduct the primary?

That is fantastic. I think he is a honourable man. I have met him before, just casually. I believe he will also realise that this is an election like no other. There has not been any election where we had 30 aspirants. So, it is going to be a very busy one for him. He and members of his team will have their hands full. Not six people are contesting. Thirty people who are eminently qualified are contesting. The governor of Jigawa is putting his reputation on the line as well. After May 5, there will be May 6. Everbody has been harping on the credibility of the process, transparency. If we have all these, it will go well. I will expect the governor and his team to live up to expectation. I have not heard any bad thing about the governor before. He will like to go back to Jigawa State with his reputation intact.

How clean, how fool-proof is the delegates’ list?

I have received my own copy after the screening. We have an agreement that delegates aho are dead must not be replaced. I have been going round for 18 months. I have interacted with 75 per cent of the delegates. I went for a rally. I shouted APC and they responded: change. As I wanted to speak, a woman leader from Gboyin Council said there was no need for me to talk again, that they know me very well, and that they said the first time they met me during the campaign, I gave them N1million. I have my reputation on the line. It precedes me. I know these delegates. I have an idea of who they are. We have agreed on the irreducible minimum. That the primary must be properly conducted. No remote ground for accreditation. We have agreed on something like a charter. No special advantage should be conferred on anyone and the process must be free and fair.

The leaders of the Southwest APC invited you and other aspirants to Lagos. What transpired at the meeting?

The meeting was also in the direction of making the primary to be very fair, to address concerns and the fears of contestants. Election is an emotional affair. I have been going around with my supporters round the state for 18 months. It will be nice to assure them that there will be fairness, that no special advantage will be conferred on any person. The leaders have done the needful by calling all of us and asking some questions. They were speaking to the issues. They made us to realise that, at the end of the day, our party must win the election. We can lean on the strength of everybody to be able to win the election.

Generally, what are the fears and concerns of the aspirants as they warm up for the primary?

There are people whose positions may confer some privileges on them and those privileges may be untoward. There are people who have head start advantage by reason of their positions. Don’t forget, there are two former governors in the race. The deputy national chairman is running for the election. A sitting minister is in the race. Some are of the opinion that their positions may confer some specific advantages on them. They wanted that clarified. Learning from the experience of Ondo, where there was discontent, they wanted that addressed. They don’t want people to mess up the process. They don’t want the deployment of illicit funds to sway the conscience of delegates.

Is there any pressure on you from some quarters to step down from the race?

Everybody knows that I have any identity. If anybody is going to approach me to step down, you will have to convince me on why I have to step down. I have been on this stage for 19 months. Some people are talking to me, that we should work together and have agreement. But, stepping down? But, I am not sure that anybody will ask mw to step down. I am not rude. I am not in this race for fantasy or because I have an ego issue. I don’t have other reason that the fact that we must restore the lost identity of Ekiti people. I am convinced that I can do that by reputation as a former member of the House of Representatives, a servant of the party who have results to show for it. There is no town in my constituency without any of my projects. An example id the 250 beneficiaries of the JAMB forms. I built, by the grace of God, a 32-bed hospital from my pocket. I even borrowed to do it. I know the delegates will want an assurance about their future. Their history is my history. They should be able to trust me.

Will the outcome of the primary not impact positively or negatively on the proposed congresses?

Possibly, I think so. But, we are certain that the delegates that were there before will be the ones that will vote at the primary. The congress for our state is going to come up much later. The way it will affect congresses thereafter is that the congress will reflect the identity of the person that wins the primary. For instance, people have alleged that some people have their pedigrees and antecedents in some different parties and these delegates have expressed fears. If you have ben in the PDP for eight years and you are now in the APC for three and half years, two years, or one year, your political DNA will most likely reflect the one of eight years. My DNA today will be screaming APC, ACN, AC, AD. Some delegates have expressed the fear. They also believe that if people who barely know them get there, they may not be able to reward those who have worked and toiled for the party for eight years. What happens at the primary will tell us the direction our congresses will go.

Why the insinuation that you are being sponsored by a top chieftain of the PDP?

Kindly covey my sympathy to the myopia and short-sightedness of those who have come up with such insinuation. I have a broad spectrum of people I have had relationship with. I was a member of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation (BATCO). Since 1998, I have been an active participant in the political process in this country. I have had the opportunity of meeting many people who had impacted on my life in many ways. But, the truth of the matter is that, if I am influenced, how come that I am still in the party? At a time, I was offered a million dollars and a return ticket to the House of Representatives, I rejected it.as tempted. But, the morality of an Ekiti man made me to reject it. They wanted to smear the party, they wanted to say that the Director-general of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation has defected to the PDP. I am a man of high trenchant strength. I have friends. But, how can I be sponsored with anybody? I have friends in the APGA, PDP and other parties. Okechukwu was my colleague in the House of Representatives. Governor Ugwuanyi of Enugu State was my colleague in the House. For a brief period of time, Governor Dickson of Bayelsa State was my colleague in the House.  I have my own mind. I have pitched my tent with the progressive party since 2002. I have not shaken my feet. I can’t jump ship from the APC.

What is your advice to delegates who will be voting on Saturday?

I want to specially appeal to our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are delegates to put into consideration the position, the situation of our party; where we are now and where we should be. They should bear in mind that there will be a day after the primary. The election should reflect the kind of future they want for themselves. I will expect that money should be the least consideration. People who throw money at them today, why did they not thrown money at them three years ago? I am not going to woo delegates with money. I want them to deepen the narrative of this election. I want them to understand the suffering of our people, and that in those days of struggle, I never abandon the party, and I have put my life on the line for the party at different times. That should count for money. If you get money, you will finish spending the money. +It is about the future of the youths, including the 250 students who benefitted from our JAMB forms.

If I become the governor, they will enjoy automatic scholarship and they will become the next medical doctors, engineers, lawyers. No amount of money will equate that.

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