Ekiti 2014: Bamidele vows to declare emergency on Education

By Julius Toba Jegede
House of Representatives member and governorship candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Ekiti State, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele has said he would declare a state of emergency in the education sector of Ekiti State, if elected to office.

He said the declaration would be necessitated due to current deplorable state of education in the state, cutting across all other sectors.

Bamidele alleged that incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi's administration of three and half years of doing further damage to education sector in 2010.

He disclosed this in Iropora -Ekiti under Irepodun/Ifelodun local government area, in furtherance of the second leg of his campaign rally on Thursday.

He said his administration when elected to office would strike a balance between affordable education and qualitative education.

He said the two categories would be made available to both indigenes and non-indigenous children and youths residing in Ekiti, beginning from October 2014 after his inauguration.

He said aside from professionalising the teaching calling, he would also prioritise welfare of Ekiti teachers thereby rewarding their labour while still here on earth.

Bamidele promised to lay a better foundation for primary and secondary education in Ekiti, which according to him had been bustardised over the years by successive administrations.

He lamented how the current poor handling of education affairs by the state government has been reflecting in students' performance in WAEC and NECO results.

Bamidele who has commissioned over five blocks of classrooms across his federal constituency within the last one week also promised to make education a necessity for all residents of the state.

He also reminded people of the state of his initial promise to allow seasoned educationists to run affairs of the sector, describing it as very critical.

He added that his decision to take a shot at Ekiti governorship seat was born out of an urgent need to rescue his people and expose them to current global developments.

He added that as a proud son of Ekiti, he could no longer afford to fold his arms and watch things spoil especially in the education sector