My jumping N’Assembly fence has paid off -Reps chairman

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public
Accounts, Mr. Solomon Olamilekan, said on Wednesday
that his decision to join other lawmakers in scaling the gate
of the National Assembly on November 20 paid off, as it
had guaranteed him a ticket for a seat in the Senate.
Olamilekan won the All Progressives Congress primaries
for Lagos-West Senatorial District on Tuesday morning
by polling 4,287 votes.
His closest rival, a former minister, Mr. Demola Seriki,
scored 247 votes.
The lawmaker, representing Alismosho Federal
Constituency of Lagos State, was one of the APC
members, who scaled the gate during the November 20
police siege to the National Assembly.
They had defended their action, saying it was taken to
“protect the institution of democracy and particularly to
protest the unwarranted attempts by the police to stop the
Speaker (Aminu Tambuwal) from entering the National
Assembly.”
Speaking on the outcome of the primaries on Wednesday,
Olamilekan told The PUNCH that the decision of the
members to protest the police siege had only made them
more popular among voters in their constituencies.
“My jumping the fence has paid off. It made me more
popular . The lesson here is that no price is too big to pay
for the defence of democracy.
“I have won the senatorial ticket for Lagos-West
Senatorial District. I thank my people for this support
and I urge them not to relent until the final victory is won
in the main election next year,” he added.
Earlier, a statement by his Media Adviser, Chief Kayode
Odunaro, said the election was conducted at the Agege
Stadium by an electoral panel chaired by Mr. Alabi
Mackfoy.