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Tag: Bukola Saraki

  • Ex-PDP Kwara governorship aspirant, others defect to APC

    . Says he cannot cohabit with Saraki

    Two terms governorship aspirant under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ), Sunday Babalola and supporters on Tuesday announced their defection to the All Progressives Congress in Kwara state.

    Babalola, an engineer, said he cannot be in the same political party with Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, Babalola said “I have defected with over 20,000 supporters who belong to several groups across Kwara State. I am involved in partisan politics because I believe that politics is about service to the people.

    “With the defection of Saraki and many of his loyalists, who have led the state and its people into penury, poverty, anguish, hunger, oppression and retrogression, from APC to the PDP, which he laboured very hard to destroy as a result of his inordinate ambition, it is very clear that I have to move with all my supporters to a political party that is more focused on people development.

    “I find it very difficult to be in the same political party with them major actor or principal, who many people, including I, believe hasmplunged Kwara state into abysmal condition. As a past aspirant and an electorate, I have decided to pitch my tent with the All Progressives Congress.”

    Said he: “Our dear state, as it is now, needs urgent liberation from the over 45 years of deceit, oppression and primordial politics of ‘stomach infrastructure’ so that the people can be delivered from a people that has held them hostage and put them in the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment for so long.

    “I believe that government plays significant role in advancing the well-being of the citizens, through the provision of infrastructure and amenities, human capital development and by engendering an environment that is conducive for business growth and expansion.

    Read Also: APC: Girei tackles Bindow over support for indirect primaries

    “The improper management of state resources by the ruling elite, especially the oligarchy of Senator Bukola Saraki, who ruled the state for eight years and still pilots the affairs of the state, through cronies, has to be brought to an end. The level of poverty and infrastructure decay in spite of the volume of the revenues that had accrued to the State over the years, both from the federation allocations and internally generated revenue, is what every well-meaning person should rise up and fight against.

    “I will continue to offer my services and resources for the emancipation of my people and for societal development. I do not believe that the return of Saraki and his loyalists to the PDP, after his several actions and utterances, intended to debase, strangulate, ridicule and public opprobrium, that the party would be able to offer anything good for Kwara indigenes and residents.

    “Those who have been accused to have held the state in the jugular, tried to suffocate and strangle it cannot metamorphose to be saviours and liberators of the state, their bombastic claims and promises notwithstanding.”

  • Saraki not a dictator, says PDP elders

    Elders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state on Monday said that Senate President Bukola Saraki is not a dictator.

    The PDP elders, who said they were old members of the party added that they became political orphans 2014 when Saraki and others in the state defected to All Progressives Congress (APC)

    They added that since his comeback to the PDP, his sterling political leadership style has impacted on them.

    An elder of the old PDP and current Financial Secretary of the party in the state Moses Ibiyemi said they “have no regret at all for pitching our tents with this leader of leaders, who despite using his personal resources to run the party since his return to its fold, has refused to exhibit any dictatorial tendencies.”

    Accompanied by the new PDP deputy chair and youth leader in the state, Abubakar Sanni, Haliru Mahmud and others, Ibiyemi said “contrary to insinuations by our former chairman and his cohorts, the relationship between us the old members of the PDP and the new entrants from the great Saraki dynasty has been very cordial.

    “It has been a case of mutual respect and trust all the way.
    “We have found in Bukola Saraki an honest, straight forward and fair leader. Instead of hijacking the party as others prophesied, the Senate President has indeed left the control of the party in the hands of all stakeholders.
    “Saraki’s demonstration of fairness and team player can be seen clearly in the composition of the new state executives of the PDP in Kwara state.

    The available offices were fairly distributed among the old and new members. Something goes down to local government and ward levels.

    “Indeed, we have no regret whatsoever for accepting the Senate President and his teeming supporters back into the PDP. He has come to add value to the party and we are very sure of emerging victorious in the 2019 general elections in the state.

    “Let me at this juncture commend the Senate President for his sense of fairness and great act of magnanimity in accepting the fair sharing of offices in the PDP executive among us the old members and those that followed him back to the party.
    “He has by this singular act proved his critics wrong and has shown the whole world that he’s a fair leader whose only passion is the overall development of our dear Kwara state.

    “We are therefore using this forum to urge a few of our members who were deceived to defect to other lesser parties to come back home as there is equal opportunities for all in the PDP under the leadership of Bukola Saraki.
    “Our doors are wide open to both our former members and every progressive minded Kwaran. Let’s join hands with this God- sent leader, our own son, Bukola Saraki in taking our dear Kwara state to a more greater heights.”

  • Fed Govt faults suit against Senate reopening without Saraki’s consent

    The Federal Government has faulted a suit by two senators seeking to stop the reopening of the Senate without the consent of Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    Senators Rafiu Adebayo (Kwara South) and Isa Misau (Bauchi Central) who initiated the suit were elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). They have defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The government’s position came through its notice of preliminary objection to the suit filed by Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami.

    In the objection dated August 17, the AGF urged the court to dismiss the suit and querried the plaintiffs’ locus standi.  He urged the court to decline jurisdiction.

    The AGF, listed as the 10th defendant, argued that the plaintiffs failed to show that the defendants had done any wrong to warrant being sued.

    “My lord, I don’t think this court is so free to allow itself to be used by mischief makers like the plaintiffs in this matter.

    “The present suit as constituted has not shown any wrong done to the plaintiffs.

    “We submit that the directives or invitation of the Senate President to appear before the Inspector General of Police for further investiagation in line with paragraph 5(f) of the DPPF’s advice cannot create a cause of action in favour of either Saraki himself or the plaintiffs, the AGF said.

    “It is pertinent to my lord to state here that if there is a threat to powers of the Senate President as conferred on him by the 1999 Constitution as amended and the Standing Rules of the Senate, the first person to complain and not the plaintiffs also herein, the Senate President, did not raise any alarm that some people are trying to usurp his powers and illegally reconvene the Senate.

    “My lord, in determining whether the plaintiffs have the necessary capacity to institute the action, the claim must be examined to see if there is any enforceable right in connection with with the plaintiffs.“

    The AGF argued that there must be a nexus between the plaintiffs and the disclosed cause of action concerning their right or obligation which have been breached or threatened to be violated.

    The AGF contended that section 6(6)(b) of the 1999 constitution is to the effect that for a person to be able to institute an action in court, he must be able to show that he has the right and obligation to do so and failure to do so would cause him/her injustice.

    The government urged the court to decline jurisdictions and hold that the plaintiffs though members of the Senate, are total strangers to the circumstances that gave rise to the suit and hence lack the locus to institute the action.

    The AGF insisted that the duty of the plaintiffs is to attend senate business of the 2nd defendant (senate president), through due process, summons the senate to reconvene and carry out their duties as senators and not to invent facts and concort a suit and file same in a court.

    The 10th defendant contended that all through the facts in the plaintiffs’ affidavits, “there was nothing showing that the Senate President has complained to the plaintiffs that his powers are being usurped by some agents of the state”.

    The AGF said since every declaration and order sought by the plaintiffs in the suit are  directly for the benefit of the Senate President, the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to commence the suit and that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the plaintiffs’ suit.  Hearing has been fixed for September 13.

  • Church Collapse: Saraki condoles with Catholic Church

    The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Sunday, commiserated with the Delta State Government and the Catholic Church in Nigeria over the collapse of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Okpe Local Government Area.

    Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, promised to help ensure that survivors received necessary medical attention.

    “My prayers are with the worshippers, affected families, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the people of Delta State on this morning’s collapse of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Okpe LGA.

    “We will continue to monitor the situation and provide assistance to see that survivors are rescued and treated.

    “Right now, we must all come together as Muslims, Christians, people of faith and most importantly, Nigerians to provide all necessary relief for the affected families and community.

    “This tragedy affects us all and we join the Catholic community to mourn the deceased, even as rescue efforts are still under way,” he said.

  • ‘Saraki’s ambition will expose his years as governor’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state has said that the decision of the Senate President Bukola Saraki to run for the highest office of the land will allow a peep into his tenure as the governor of the state between 2003 and 2011.

    In a statement, the state Caretaker Committee Chair, Bashir Bolarinwa said “it is also an inalienable right of the people of the state he once governed to bring the past before him.

    “Dr. Saraki is a Nigerian, and one of his rights is to vote and be voted for. However, he had, had an opportunity in the past to be elected as the Chief Executive of Kwara State, whose sojourn attracted more stunted growth, unproductive ventures and large scale fraud to the good people of the State.

    “Shonga farm was an initiative of Dr. Saraki which repatriated Zimbabwean white farmers here, who were hitherto sent away from their former settlement at the expense of the original land owners. As we speak, young, energetic and promising farmers who knew nothing than planting of rice are currently in Ilorin riding Okada after they were forcefully ejected from their natural homes and places of usefulness.

    “That the Shonga farm venture is a fraud is an understatement because until now no traces of the farm produce can be found in our local market. Last time we had a trace of the dairy farm -everyone who consumed it ran uncontrollable stool.

    “We have seen the rice that came out of Lagos/Kebbi joint venture called Lake rice, we have seen Coscharis rice venture in Anambra and Abakaliki rice from Ebonyi among other credible and profitable ventures.

    “If a man has so much defrauded a state by using state assets to secure bank facility for ejected white farmers from other places in Africa at the expense of young, energetic and promising farmers and he now profess to seek to represent such youths; he must be living in the utopian world.

    Read Also: Saraki’s ambition almost destroyed APC — Oshiomhole

    “We will ask him too, what has become of the the Ilorin airport cargo terminal which he so much hyped as a means of lifting agricultural produce from the state?”

    Bolarinwa said the new bid of Dr. Saraki will rather be an exposee that will bring out, rot perpetuated and coordinated by Dr. Saraki’s rule in our dear state than the exploits he seeks through the unrealistic and wild dream of becoming Nigerian President.

    “Every sector in Kwara State today is laying flat -education is under threat with massive infrastructural deficits and lack of motivation for teachers. There is no policy on rural integration, not to talk of accessible roads. There is a total neglect and lack of capacity for urban renewal. Life expectancy has reduced and our people wallowing in untold hardship occasioned by inhuman tax regime.

    “Those are the legacies of Saraki’s eight year rule in Kwara State and carried to the next level by his godson, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, whose government is running on “legacy continues”.

    “These are some of the profound legacies of Dr. Saraki in Kwara State and he feels Nigerians will need a taste of it, even at the national level. God forbid!” Bolarinwa asserted.

     

  • Saraki’s ambition almost destroyed APC — Oshiomhole

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said that he has been vindicated on his comments that Senate President Bukola Saraki left the party because of his personal ambition and not because he had the interest of the nation at heart.

    He said that Saraki’s personal ambition almost destroyed the APC, adding that it is a good thing that the Senate President has moved on.

    Oshiomhole, in a meeting with APC leaders from Kwara State, said the declaration of the Senate President’s decision to contest the presidential ticket on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had vindicated him, charging APC members in the state to jettison their personal ambitions and work towards ending the reign of Saraki in Kwara politics.

    The Chief Press Secretary to Oshiomhole, Simon Ebegbulem, quoted the APC Chairman as saying, “When I was saying that all these defections is not about APC but the personal ambition of these people, they took hired writers to say I was being too hard. But Saraki’s declaration has vindicated me.

    “Thank God he has moved on, because his inordinate ambition was almost destroying our party, but he has failed.

    “These are not principled politicians but bread-and-butter politicians who can go the extra mile to pursue their selfish ambitions and never think about the well-being of Nigerians.

    “As things stands today, APC remains the darling of the Nigerian people because PDP is the vomit of yesterday and our people will not chew it back today; not under three and half years. People have not forgotten and people will never forget.

    “In fact, a senior palace chief in Nigeria said this generation of Nigerians will not forgive the PDP in a hurry. Even to say you want to forgive, you must do reparation.

    “The damage they did to our economy, the damage they did to our electoral process, even the culture of rigging was institutionalised by them. They introduced do or die politics.

    “They are the ones buying weapons for young people to go into thuggery while their own children are schooling abroad. They introduced all these vices.”

    He said that reclaiming Kwara state from the grip of Saraki is a task that must be done, and asked APC leaders to ensure they conclude the election of executives from the wards to the state this weekend.

    He said: “The last time I spoke with the Minister, he told me we have accomplished 80 or 85 per cent. That, for me, is not good enough, because we don’t have more time. So this week, we must achieve 100 per cent by whatever means. If you can’t do it, we have to help you get it done.

    “The two Deputy National chairmen working with the National Organising Secretary and the North Central Vice Chairman constitute a committee to complete whatever is left. It will not exceed Sunday this week.

    “I also want to appeal very strongly that at this hour, we don’t want a situation where because of what is happening in Kwara, people who ordinarily will be quite happy to be a strong pillar of support, everybody wants to be a governor, everybody wants to be a senator or in the House of Reps.

    “Our party is a party of change and we want to discourage people from putting their personal interests over and above the interest of the people of Kwara State.

     

  • We ‘re tired of Saraki dynasty— Ilorin clan

    The people of Ajikobi Ward in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State said yesterday that they are  tired of the Saraki dynasty and have resolved to reject the family head ,Senate President Bukola Saraki,  or anyone  he puts forward for election in the area.

    A leader of the community , Alhaji Omar Aiyelabegan, told reporters in Ilorin,the state capital,that  nobody would succumb to Saraki’s dictates  again.

    “We have our independent mind, even my children have a right to belong to where it will benefit them.We are tired of Bukola Saraki,” Aiyelabegan  said.

    Aiyelabegan, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara said the Senate President was never chosen by the people as their  leader.

    He claimed that  the people chose to be silent at the self-imposed leadership of the Saraki family adding that the Senate President has done little or nothing for the development of the area.

    His words:“the people of Kwara have never had it right from the time the Saraki family decided not only to be king makers but as king in addition.

    “Since then up-to-date  we, at the grassroots, have become the prisoners of the family – like chickens or sheep ready for roasting or for pepper soup at any time election is approaching.

    “It is only when election is approaching that they dangle carrots as empowerment for the long forgotten electorate, to woo them.

    “Kwara people are never given the chance to make representations ?on matters that concern them in government, either at the executive or legislative levels

    Aiyelabegan did not spare Governor  Abdulfatah Ahmed who he said has also failed the people of the state.

    “These deceptions are enough! No road, poor educational system, poor health system, no water; agriculture is nil, no salaries for some categories of workers for months,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted him as saying.

    “Pensioners are denied of their entitlements. Nothing is working in Kwara.”

  • Jonathan lauds Saraki’s leadership of National Assembly

    Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday hailed Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for the firm and progressive leadership he has provided for the National Assembly.

    Jonathan is said to have spoken when Saraki paid him a courtesy visit at his Maitama Office in Abuja.

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Sanni Onogu, said that Jonathan underscored the tremendous support being enjoyed by Saraki from lawmakers in both the Senate and the House of Representatives as testimony to Saraki’s leadership ability.

    It said that Jonathan thanked Saraki and members of his entourage for the visit, noting that most of the leaders that came to his house with the President of the Senate had at one time or the other, played key roles in his political history and development.

    Jonathan said: “Senate President, let me use this opportunity to commend your leadership abilities. Looking at what is happening in the country, if not for your strong leadership, probably the National Assembly would have been in chaos and if the National Assembly is in tatters, then of course, democracy is gone.

    Read Also: Saraki, Jonathan meet in Abuja

    “I am quite pleased with the kind of relationship you have with the House of Representatives members and how you have been able to hold the National Assembly together because on the day that the parliament was invaded, though the target was the Senate, the House of Representatives members were as active as, if not more active, than the Senators and that cannot happen by chance.

    “What we know is that if there is an assault on the Senate.  Then it is also seen as an assault on the House of Representatives. If they (House of Representatives members) don’t believe in you, I don’t think some of them would have taken that kind of risk. That commitment shows that they believe in your leadership.”

    It said that Saraki explained that his visit was to pay his respect to the ex-president and also to inform him of his formal return to the fold of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    It said that Saraki added that the present realities in the country showed that all those that love the country must work together to return the country to the path of growth, fairness, equity and justice.

  • Saraki frowns at refusal of Kwankwaso use of Eagle Square

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday condemned alleged last minute cancellation of the approval granted to Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to use facilities in Eagle Square, Abuja for his 2019 presidential declaration.

    A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, to the Senate President Yusuph Olaniyonu, said that Saraki was emphatic that the “Eagle Square belongs to all Nigerians.”

    It said that Saraki added that the alleged “cancellation sends a wrong message about the tolerance level in our politics.”

    Read Also: I regret supporting Buhari – Kwankwaso

    It quoted Saraki to have insisted that “The refusal to allow Senator Kwankwaso to utilize the Eagle Square for his Presidential declaration, despite an earlier approval, sends a wrong message about our democracy, particularly the tolerance level in our politics.

    “That square belongs to all Nigerians because it was built with public funds. We hope this is not what we will be seeing as we approach the 2019 General Elections,” the Senate President said.

  • Saraki: Court advises parties to exercise restraints

    Fixes September 6 for hearing

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has asked parties to the suit, seeking to prevent the forceful removal of Bukola Saraki as Senate President, to exercise restraint pending the determination of the suit.

    Justice Nnamdi Dimgba gave the advice on Tuesday after listening to argument by lawyer to the plaintiffs, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), who argued an ex-parte application for, among others, orders restraining the defendants from unlawfully impeaching Saraki.

    Justice Dimgba queried the rationale behind the plaintiffs’ prayers for an orders stopping Saraki’s unlawful removal, wondering how the court could be asked to restrain the defendants from unlawfully removing the Senate President? He said: “If it is unlawful, it is unlawful.”

    Etiaba made effort to justify the prayers as contained in reliefs 1, 2 and 3 of the ex-parte motion. He also informed the court about an alternative prayer if the court was not favourably disposed to granting reliefs 1, 2 and 3.

    He said: “Our alternative prayer is for the court to make preservatory orders in order to protect the res (subject) of the suit pending its determination.

    Ruling, Justice Dimgba said: “In respect of reliefs 1, 2, and 3, which are orders of interim injunction, I believe the proper order to make is an order of accelerated hearing of the suit so that the court can consider and determine the merits of the substantive case definitively and expeditiously

    Read Also: SDP: Court strikes out case against Omisore

    “Even though reliefs 1, 2, and 3 are not granted, needless to say that parties are enjoined to respect the authority of the court and the integrity of the judicial process, and should not take steps that will render nugatory the outcome of this litigation.

    “In the light of the order of accelerated hearing on the merit of the case, the matter is hereby adjourned to the 6th of September 2018 for hearing,” the judge said.

    The plaintiffs – Senators Rabiu Adebayo (Kwara South) andIsa Misau (Bauchi Central) are, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/843/2018 seeking among others, to prevent Saraki’s removal through means other than that provided under Section 50(2)(c ) of the Constitution.

    Section 50(2) provides: “The President or Deputy President of the Senate or the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall vacate his office…. (c)if he is removed from office by a resolution of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the members of that House.”

    Listed as defendants in the suit are: The Senate, the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawal (Senate Leader), Senator Bala Ibn Nallah (Deputy Senate Leader), Senator Emma Buacha (Deputy Minority Leader), Clerk of the Senate, Deputy Clerk of the Senate, the Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police and the State Security Service, (SSS).