By Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The Ex-deputy governor of Ekiti State and Labour Party governorship candidate for the July 14 election, Dr. Sikiru Lawal, has vowed that the coming election will mark the end of those he described as ‘opportunists’ in the politics of the state.
Lawal, who flagged off his campaign on Wednesday, said the current experience of had shown vividly that the electorate must have a rethink and vote the right person during the gubernatorial election .
The LP candidate was received at Ikere Ekiti by a large crowd of party supporters, who described him as the most qualified to lead Ekiti in the coming election.
The party supporters and admirers later escorted the campaign train to Ado Ekiti where he promised to begin house-to-house campaign to garner support from the electorate.
Lawal said his manifesto, which centred basically on Agriculture, Women Empowerment, Economic Empowerment and Human Capital
Development (AWEH), would help redirect the state’s economy for better prospect and improved standard of living for the populace.
Addressing journalists at his campaign office, Lawal promised to bring his experience as a retired director  in the Ekiti State Ministry of
Education and Technology to bear in order to make Ekiti a pride of place.
He promised that the five and eight month salary arrears of civil servants and pensioners respectively would be paid within six months of his assumption office if voted into office as governor by the people.
“I later served as a deputy governor to Engineer Segun Oni. I was once a local government administrator under the military regime. All these
will be added advantage in delivering Ekiti from poverty and unwarranted sufferings.
“The level of unemployment is becoming embarrassing. Recently, the leadership of commercial motorcyclists revealed that over 5,000 Okada riders in Ekiti were graduates. That was not a cheery news.
“Ekiti became respected state in Nigeria because of our erudition and academic prowess, I will strive hard to make Ekiti great in education by providing impetus for youths by way of employment provisions.
“I will place high premium on the welfare of the old people, the indigent, civil servants and other people in all the strata of our society. There will be a safety dragnet to take care of them,†he said.
On the need for electorate to vote wisely, Lawal advised that; “our people must open their eyes. They must see beyond now and vote for who has the experience and temperament to be able to lead Ekiti wellâ€.
Lawal promised to make education free up to secondary level, while the tuition payable in the state owned tertiary institutions would be made affordable for all.
“Education is a right and not a privilege. We shall work hard to set up robust scholarship scheme to help those in the Law School and those running PhD and Masters programmes, for us to reclaim our glory and live up to the acronym: Fountain of Knowledgeâ€, he said.
