Nigeria Senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele has denied reports that he was working against Yoruba interests in the course of his legislative activities in the 10th National Assembly.
He reacted to claims by some individuals in the media, describing them as “baseless, false and unfounded, claiming he had been dutifully serving the interests of Ekiti Central, Ekiti State, South-west and Nigeria by extension since his election into the National Assembly.
In a statement by his Media and Public Affairs and sent to DAILY POST on Wednesday, Bamidele challenged anyone or group of persons to come out with audio or video evidence to buttress the claim against him.
He said it was wrong for some media platforms to attribute a statement to him, claiming he said, “If we allow the regional system in Nigeria, we would have automatically given the easterners Biafra.”
He denied that he ever made such a statement, saying the false allegation was an attempt to pitch him against the Yoruba and other ethnic nationalities in the federation.
The lawmaker said he never mentioned regional government in line with the 1960 and 1963 Constitution at the 27th-28th September 2024 Senate Retreat on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
“The claim is far from the truth. I never spoke about the return to the regional government at any forum; neither did I claim that ‘If we allow the regional system in Nigeria, we would have automatically given the easterners Biafra.’
“It is a sheer case of misinformation and deliberate fake news, which do not in any way represent my worldview about federal governance structure,” Bamidele said.
Bamidele, however, warned that he would not hesitate to legally challenge any individual or establishment fabricating and circulating fake news against his person and office, insisting that there was no proposal for a regional government.
