insecurity: We have never had it so bad – Sen. Olujimi

Former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Senator Biodun Olujimi, represented Ekiti South Senatorial District in the 8th Senate. Being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Caucus at the beginning of the 8th Senate, she was the deputy minority whip and later Senate Minority Leader. She was the only female among the principal officers of the immediate past Senate. Prior to her coming to the Senate, she was a special assistant to then governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti and later elected as a member, House of Representatives. As the 9th Senate took off, Olujimi could not resume and be inaugurated because she was not declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, she went to the Tribunal and won. Only last week, the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna nullified the election of Spokesman of the Senate, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, her main opponent and ordered INEC to issue her certificate of return. In this interview, Senator Olujimi speaks on burning national issues, the Court of Appeal verdict, and her agenda in the 9th Senate among others.

By Henry Umoru, Assistant Politics

You have just been declared the winner of the Ekiti South Senatorial election by the Court of Appeal, affirming the decision of the Tribunal, what does the judgement mean to you?
I see the judiciary in a different light, I see the judiciary as the last bastion for any one of us. I see the judiciary as the only entity that can assist us in this long quest for justice and fair play and I doff my hat for those Justices that sat on the Tribunal and on the Court of Appeal. They were really fearless and did a great job of looking at all the facts, putting them through the sieves and telling us the truth about the whole exercise.

What is your message to Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, the people of Ekiti South and the entire Ekiti People?
To Senator Adeyeye, he is my brother, friend, colleague, and ally. I know how it feels when you have been in a place and you are taken out, so I know how he feels. He is a very passionate person and he is very good at what he knows how to do.

But we all submitted to democracy and democratic tenets and when you are not convinced, you need to probe it further and get results. He should take the defeat as a sacrifice for our democracy and I hope that we can work together to deliver the goods to the people.

Ben Idah