As July governorship election in Ekiti state gathers deeper momentum, the number of aspirants who have declared interest to take a shot at the high office in the state has continued to surge.
But among the about 34 guber aspirants under the platform of the major opposition All Progressives Congress, one cannot wish away the fact that five of them are prominent and out of them, one might emerge the next governor of state of fountain of knowledge.
These five ‘strong’ aspirants are:
Minister for Solid Minerals Development and the immediate past governor of Ekiti, Dr. John Olukayode Fayemi. Fayemi is a native of Isan-Ekiti in Oye Local Government of Ekiti State, Nigeria;
Olusegun Oni, also known as Segun Oni, is a Nigerian politician and a former Governor of Ekiti State since 29 May 2007. He was a member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party;
Babafemi Ojudu is a Nigerian journalist who was elected Senator for the Ekiti Central constituency of Ekiti State, Nigeria, in the April 2011 national elections. He ran on the Action Congress of Nigeria platform.
Another aspirant is Hon. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, popularly known as MOB; a Nigerian Lawyer, human right activist, politician and member of the 7th House of Representatives.
But of a special breed and personality is Hon. Abimbola Oluwafemi Daramola, a former lawmaker at the House of Representatives who picked his interest form last week. Aged 50, Daramola has shown himself to be a contemporary young politician who properly fits into the widespread clamour for younger leaders to pilot the affairs of not only Ekiti star but the nation at large.
Now, meet this young achiever who is set on succeeding Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Abimbola Oluwafemi Daramola (born 9 November 1967) is a Nigerian scientist and legislator in the House of Representatives of Nigeria , representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency, Ekiti State , South-West Nigeria[1] since 2011.
Early life
Bimbo Daramola was born in Ado Ekiti , Ekiti State by Francis Adebayo Daramola, a former chairman (Mayor) of Oye Local Government Area[2] when Oye Local Government Area was under Ondo State , out of which Ekiti State was carved in 1996 by the military government of
Nigeria then headed by late General Sani Abacha . His mother’s name is Joan Taiwo Daramola (now late), a retired Head Teacher – Secondary School Principal.
Education
Daramola started his formal education at Emmanuel Anglican Primary School, Ado-Ekiti and St. Joseph Primary School, Aramoko-Ekiti in 1973. He had his secondary school education at Christ’s School Ado Ekiti , which was founded by Archdeacon Henry Dallimore. [3] He had a one-year stint at Ado Grammar School where he had to resit for
West African Senior School Certificate Examination when there was delay in the release of the results of his first attempt by the West African Examinations Council. He studied Geology in 1984 at the then Ondo State University, Ado Ekiti, later known as University of Ado Ekiti , and now known as Ekiti State University.
He graduated in 1989 and was thereafter posted to Kaduna State , North West Nigeria, where he participated in the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps at Water Survey (Nig) Ltd. He got his master’s degree in Business Administration , at the
University of Ilorin in 1995.
Career
Water Survey (Nig.) Limited offered Bimbo Daramola a permanent employment four months into the NYSC scheme in Kaduna. He resigned from Water Surveys (Nig) Ltd in 1993 and took up an appointment at Savannah Bank.
After Savannah Bank, Daramola co-founded Rucie Communications and became its Deputy managing director. The company produced a documentary, titled From Prison to Presidency , which chronicled the life, times and works of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Daramola is chief executive officer of The Bridge Concepts Nigeria Limited . The company compiled and publish JAMB Q&A: A Publication of Past Questions and Answers 1983 – 2004. The logo for the 18th
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003 , CHOGM 2013 Abuja, which was held 5–8 December 2003 was designed by the Bridge Concepts,He initiated and implemented the first ever discount card system in Nigeria that takes care of the youths demography with special focus on the Nigerian Students & Youth Corps members christened Naija Green Card.
Politics
In 1998, Daramola met with a team of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organization which was then responsible for campaign co-ordination of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who was contesting for the governorship seat of Lagos State under the platform of Alliance for Democracy to canvass the use of mobile bill board for its campaign. He also took his mobile billboard proposal to the campaign team of then yet-to-be-elected President
Olusegun Obasanjo who was the presidential aspirant of People’s Democratic Party. The team accepted his proposal and “by association,” he became a member of PDP.” [4] In 2011, he was nominated by Action Congress of Nigeria to contest the seat of his constituency, Ekiti North 1 (Oye-Ikole Local Govt. Areas) Federal Constituency, which he won. He is currently the leading candidate for the Gubernatorial ticket in Ekiti State for 2018 under the auspices of APC as a Youth sensation, Crowd puller and an astute grassroots mobilizer.
Legislative activities
Daramola took oath of office as Member, House of Representatives, representing Oye/Ikole Ekiti-North Federal Constituency 1, Ekiti State , on Monday, 6 June 2011 during the inauguration of the Seventh House of Representatives. He is the Vice-Chairman of House of Representatives’ Committee on
Millennium Development Goals , and member of the following House of Representatives’ committees: Army, Banking & Currency, Civil Society and Donor Agencies, and Diaspora. [5] Daramola moved a motion titled Emerging Threats to Nigeria’s Internal Security and the Need for the Establishment of Department of Homeland Security, to address the menace of security challenges facing Nigeria, as posed by the Boko Haram sect . [6] Daramola moved a motion to investigate claims by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria that 140.9 billion Naira (about US$1 billion), owed by Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited and Forte Oil Plc as a result of fuel subsidy scam had been paid. An ad hoc committee, headed by
Femi Gbajabiamila to verify the repayment claims. [7] was constituted. Daramola was appointed by the House of Representatives to head the ad hoc committee to probe the allocation of plots of land to companies and individuals in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and possible cases of fraud in the process from 2010 till date.
Another experienced politician is Segun Oni who in 2014, defected from the PDP and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). He currently holds the position of Deputy National Chairman South. Oni is married to Olukemi Adetola (née Ogunsiji) and they have two children, a girl and a boy
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