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Tag: Bukola Saraki

  • Polls: Saraki confident of victory

    In spite of his humiliating defeat during the presidential and National Assembly elections, Senate President Bukola Saraki is confident of victory for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s governorship candidate Razak Atunwa and other candidates in March 9th governorship and House of Assembly election.

    He urged his supporters not to be discouraged by the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state, urging them to troop out en masse to vote for the PDP governorship and House of Assembly candidates come March 9 elections.

    Saraki was given a heroic reception on arrival at the Ilorin International Airport by crowd of supporters.

    He added that the PDP has the number to emerge victorious in the remaining elections.

    Addressing his supporters at the Charity House at his Iloffa GRA residence in Ilorin, the Senate President urged his people to close ranks and work in unison for the PDP in the governorship and house of assembly elections.

    Senator Saraki appealed to his supporters and other aggrieved stakeholders to overlook wherever the system might have erred in the overall interest of Kwara state.

    Saraki reminded them that “those you voted for in anger are not your people and cannot attend to your needs as we, who are your brothers will do.”

    Read Also: Horror moments for Saraki, Southwest politician

    He thanked the people of the state for their support, assuring them that he would always be around to cater for their needs.

    He added “I can’t run away. My covenant with my people transcends politics. I will never abandon my people. We should not fight. I leave everything to God. I will not fight even with those they declared winnners of the last weekend’s elections. We must cooperate for the governorship election. Once we do this, we shall win the election.”

    He charged his followers to be more committed like the opposition’s supporters.

    “We should stop internal wrangling. We shall emerge victorious in the remaining election. I’m here to assure you that I shall never abandon you, my people. The people you have voted for are not known to you. We should forgive ourselves and move forward in the interest of our state, ” he stated.

  • It’s over for Saraki politically, says Oshiomhole

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole on Wednesday mocked Senate President, Bukola Saraki for losing his re-election bid.

    He said though the ruling party had been planning to impeach the Senate President, it was better his constituents retired him politically from the Red Chamber.

    He spoke with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja after congratulating President Muhammadu Buhari who was declared winner of last Saturday’s election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Oshiomhole also pointed out that there was apprehension before the February 23 presidential election over who was going to win the election.

    He said President Buhari’s statement that the ruling party should be magnanimous with the victory was what was expected of a statesman.

    According to him: “Even in victory, he sowed humility and hand of fellowship to those who share commitment to the future of Nigeria and contested against him. But in every race, there would always be a winner.”

    Apparently referring to Saraki, who lost his bid to return to the Senate, Oshiomhole said: “People who came to the senate with less than a 100,000 votes and began to hold the country to ransom, their own people have recalled them home.

    “While we were saying that we will impeach them, their people said they would rather bury them.

    “Politically, now, they are out. It shows the power of democracy, it’s a leveler, an equalizer.

     “You cannot be bigger than the people.  Our people say that a politician is likened to an Okro tree. It should never grow taller than the person who planted it.

    “And those who plant the political okro tree are the Nigerian people. I think, a couple of lessons have been learnt.

    “This game is for those who are humble, those who believe in the people. There are no dynasties, the people are the sovereign.

    “When they borrow you the power, remember, it is only lend to you, and it will expire, and it will require renewal. If you don’t behave, thy will remove you.”

    On false prophesy about Nigeria, he said: “For those analysts who have been active since 1999 in his fourth republic, this is the most keenly contested election and my joy is that first, in the electioneering season, given all issues about security in Nigeria, there is no incident of terrorists attack except one or so in maybe Yobe or somewhere. That for me, to God be the glory.

    “The second is people who had predicted that Nigerians are going to fight, are going to war and that we are preparing for a Second World War. I am sure again, they have been put to shame.

    “I know that Nigerians believe in their country, we appreciate our friends but we also know that those friends will never accept us as citizens of their country.

    “The only country we cannot be deported, the only country we don’t need visa to stay, no matter who you are, no matter what you do, is Nigeria.

    “It is the only home we can truly call our own. Even for those who have multiple passports of various nationalities because their real country is Nigeria.”

  • Saraki should leave as Senate President immediately, says Senator Ibrahim

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Labour and Productivity, Senator Abu Ibrahim, on Tuesday said the humiliating defeat Senate President Bukola Saraki suffered in the Saturday Presidential and National Assembly elections was an indication that he should vacate the Senate Presidency immediately.

    Ibrahim, who represents Katsina South in the Upper Chamber, told reporters in Abuja that Saraki should vacate the Senate Presidency seat immediately to save the little good will left for him.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain also declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) completely dead in Katsina State.

    He said if Saraki failed to heed the damning defeat handed him by his people to vacate the seat of the Senate President, he would be a lame duck head “because his over bloated image has been completely destroyed.”

    He said the prediction that APC would retire Saraki from politics has become a reality.

    Read Also: Saraki wins polling unit

    Ibrahim said the greatest undoing of Saraki in Kwara State politics was self- centeredness.

    According to him: “Some of us predicted that APC will retire Saraki. It has come to pass. It was obvious that Saraki was not going to win the election.

    “Saraki was always for himself. Selfishness does not serve any politician well. That was Saraki’s greatest undoing.

    “Kwara people showed clearly that they were tired of Saraki and his antics. His image mostly over bloated has been destroyed completely.

    “If I were Saraki I will throw in the towel immediately. He should not wait until the end of the Eight Senate.

    “If he refuses to go immediately, he will be a lame duck Senate President because nothing is left for him to cling on.”

    Asked why the APC failed to stop Saraki’s loyalist, Senator Dino Melaye from returning to the Senate, Ibrahim said since the party had dealt with the root, the branches were not important.

  • Saraki denies congratulating Oloriegbe

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has denied congratulating Dr Ibrahim Oloriegbe of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who defeated him in the Kwara central senatorial contest.

    His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Yusuph Olaniyonu, on Monday said that contrary to reports, Saraki did not congratulate Oloriegbe

    Olaniyonu, in a statement, dissociated the Saraki camp from a message being shared on WhatsApp which states that the PDP and Saraki have congratulated the APC and its candidates.

    Read Also: Saraki wins polling unit

    He further stated that the position of the Saraki camp will be communicated to the public later on Monday.

    “The public should disregard any fictitious statements being issued and shared on WhatsApp by the PDP in Kwara. Our position on the election will be communicated later today.

    “In the interim, the APC should stop issuing statements congratulating itself and ascribing it to our camp”, Olaniyonu said.

  • APC to Kwarans: thank you for ending Saraki’s dominance

    The All Progressives Congress ( APC ) has commended the people of Kwara state for voting to end the era of dominance and political slavery in the state by coming out to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and all its candidates in Saturday elections.

    The party asked the people to complete the political revolution they have started by coming out to cast their vote for the party governorship candidate in the forth coming governorship elections.

    In a statement signed by the National publicity secretary, Mallam Lanre Isa Onilu, the party said it was full of “appreciation to the good people of Kwara State for the tremendous and overwhelming support shown to President Muhammadu Buhari and all candidates of the party in the Presidential and National Assembly elections that held last Saturday.

    “For our party and to Kwarans, this victory is special in so many ways. But most significantly, is how the people showed uncommon resilience and determination against all odds to kick out a man that had stagnated development and held the fortunes of the state hostage for the past 16 years.

    “The people of Kwara have shown clearly that they will no longer fraternize with their oppressors neither will the state representation continue to be a sign post for thuggery, embezzlement, feudal lords, misuse of power and opportunism.

    “The people of Kwara have shown commitment to the kind of change that will empower the people while reclaiming the lost glory of Kwarans. The dawn of intellectual capacity, integrity, accountability, fair and progressive representation as well as respect for people and institutions beckon.

    “We equally note with utmost satisfaction the total and unequivocal victory given to our party, as we not only won the Presidential election, but also all the Senate and House of Representatives seats in the state.

    “It is, indeed, a new dawn for our dear Kwara State. The APC would not take this victory for granted. Service to the people would be our watchword, as our Representatives in the National Assembly are fully conscious of the enormous responsibilities now placed on their shoulders.

    “However, we want to remind our people that the work is not done yet. Come Saturday, we humbly ask every eligible voter in the state to come out enmasse and vote for our governorship candidate, AbdulRahman Abdulrazak and all our candidates for the House of Assembly polls.

    “To accomplish this task is imperative in order to uproot all the vestiges of the retrogressive political servitude that has held our dear state backward amongst the comity of states in Nigeria.”

  • Saraki impressed with voters turnout

    Senate President Bukola Saraki on Saturday lauded the massive turnout of voters in Kwara state for the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.

    Saraki spoke with reporters shortly after he cast his vote at Ode Opobiyi Polling Unit (005/006), in Ajikobi ward of Ilorin West local government.

    He hailed the peaceful atmosphere witnessed in the exercise and urged residents to maintain such postures.

    Accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Toyin Saraki; mother, Mrs. Florence Saraki and eldest son, Seni, the Senate president cast his vote at 10.20am.

    Read Also: Election: Don’t be deterred, Saraki tells Nigerians

    Senator Saraki urged the electorate to remain patient to enable them cast their vote within the stipulated time frame.

    He decried the late arrival of voting materials to some polling units within Ilorin metropolis.

    He called on the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to redress such anomalies in subsequent elections.

    Director General of Kwara PDP Mandate 2019 Campaign, Prof Abubakar Suleiman had also expressed concerns over the late arrival of materials as well as the reported malfunctioning of card readers in some parts of the metropolis.

  • Mohammed: I owed my appointment as minister to Buhari

    Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said that he owes his appointment as a minister to President Muhammadu Buhari and no one else.

    He described as laughable the report that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, was instrumental to his appointment into Buhari’s cabinet.

    This followed the claim by Special Adviser (Media) to the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Doyin Okupe, that the minister owed his appointment to the Senate president.

    The minster, in a statement signed by his media aide, Mr. Segue Adeyemi, described the report as fiction writing.

    The minister also challenged Okupe to make evidence of his assertion available.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture has been drawn to a statement issued by the Special Adviser (Media) to the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in which he bold-facedly credited Senate President Bukola Saraki with the appointment of Mohammed as minister.

    “The entire statement by Dr. Okupe is nothing but fiction writing, for which he deserves a hall of infamy award (in the fiction writing segment). Not one of the claims he made in his statement is true.

    “For the record, Alhaji Lai Mohammed owes his appointment as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to President Muhammadu Buhari and no one else. It is, therefore, laughable that anyone will seek to take credit for that appointment.

    “We challenge Dr. Okupe, who concocted the story in question, to make available to Nigerians any evidence he may have to support his assertion that the President sought the permission of Dr. Saraki to appoint Mohammed as minister.

    “We understand that Dr. Okupe’s cheap attempt at mud-throwing is nothing but a proxy fight, rooted deeply in the politics of Kwara State.

    “We are aware that Dr. Okupe’s boss is feeling the heat emanating from the ‘O To Ge’ (enough is enough) movement in Kwara, and that even the strongest of men will become disoriented and disillusioned at losing the support of a people, who once venerated them to high heavens. But that is a self-inflicted wound for which Okupe’s boss, an acclaimed slave master, has no one but himself to blame.

    “Alhaji Mohammed is very proud to lead the ‘O To Ge’ movement that is set to finally bring down the Berlin Wall of political hegemony in Kwara State and send Dr. Okupe’s boss into political oblivion. That will also free Dr. Okupe himself from merely being his master’s voice, so he can fully devote his time to his new-found pastime – fiction writing.”

  • I owe my appointment to Buhari, not Saraki – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says he owes his appointment as minister to President Muhammadu Buhari and no one else.

    In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, the minister said it was “laughable’’ that anyone would seek to take credit for his appointment.

    Mohammed was reacting to a statement by Dr. Doyin Okupe the Special Adviser (Media) to the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, in which he gave credit to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki for the minister’s appointment.

    The minister said that the entire statement by Okupe, “is nothing but fiction writing, for which he deserves a hall of infamy award (in the fiction writing segment).

    “Not one of the claims he made in his statement is true.’’

    Mohammed challenged Okupe to make available to Nigerians any evidence he might have to support his assertion that the President sought the permission of Saraki to appoint him as minister.

    “We understand that Dr. Okupe’s cheap attempt at mud-throwing is nothing but a proxy fight, rooted deeply in the politics of Kwara State.

    Read Also: Game up for Saraki in Kwara-Lai Mohammed

    “We are aware that Okupe’s boss is feeling the heat emanating from the `O To Ge’ (enough is enough) movement in Kwara.

    “And that even the strongest of men will become disoriented and disillusioned at losing the support of a people who once venerated them to high heavens.

    “But that is a self-inflicted wound for which Okupe’s boss, an acclaimed slave master, has no one but himself to blame,’’ Mohammed said.

    The minister said he was very proud to lead the ‘O To Ge’ movement that is set to finally bring down the Berlin Wall of political hegemony in Kwara State and send Okupe’s boss into political oblivion.

    He said the movement will also free Okupe himself from merely being his master’s voice, so he can fully devote his time to his new-found pastime – fiction writing.

    NAN

  • ‘Saraki, PDP masterminded polls postponement’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) South West Youth Forum has accused the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of orchestrating series of events that eventually led to the postponement of the Presidential election earlier schedule for this weekend.

    In a statement issued in Lagos, by its spokesperson, Mr. Olutunde Mayowa, the Forum reminded Nigerians that the opposition created the chain of events that led to the postponement when the Senate President deliberately delayed the passage of the INEC budget thereby denying the agency funds its needed to kick start the preparations.

    “Though INEC has its blame for shoddy preparation but we should be clear headed in tracing both the remote and immediate cause of this postponement and the embarrassment it has caused our nation.

    “Saraki’s National Assembly has become nothing but a clog in the wheel of progress by making it impossible for agencies to access funds they need to function, that much they did when for months Saraki and his hatchet men failed to pass the INEC budget. The result of that is what we are seeing now.

    “We were expecting INEC to perform miracles, but truth must be told, the opposition created this scenario for their selfish benefits,” the Forum said.

  • Election: Don’t be deterred, Saraki tells Nigerians

    The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Saturday said the last minute postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections caused a great inconvenience to many Nigerians.

    Saraki made this known in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu.

    He, however, appealed to Nigerians not to be discouraged by the rescheduling, but to remain determined to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.

    The Senate President expressed disappointment that after preparations by the electoral commission, security services and other agencies of government, issues of logistics and related matters were said to be responsible for postponing the elections.

    “Waiting till just a few hours to commencement of voting before announcing postponement of elections is extremely sad.

    “Nobody can quantify the difficulty that this will bring to people at every level. I empathize with youth corps members who have been relocated from their places of primary assignment to assist with the conduct of the elections.

    “My thoughts also go to civil servants who left their bases to go and vote in their hometowns.

    Read Also: Saraki replies APC leaders

    “I also sympathize with millions of ordinary Nigerian traders whose businesses were suspended because of the no movement order. Thus, the costs of this postponement are incalculable,” he said.

    Saraki appealed to Nigerians not to be deterred, discouraged or disappointed.

    “Next Saturday, they should try and forget the current setback and troop out en masse to vote for their preferred candidates.

    “Not voting because of the postponement is not a good option for Nigerians. My appeal to our people is that we must still go out next Saturday to exercise our franchise.

    “At this point, Government and INEC should focus on what is the way forward and ensure that the elections take place as rescheduled. They should move swiftly to smoothen all the rough edges.

    “The commission must ensure we do not have a repeat of what happened today. We have been saying it that the 2019 elections should be a clear improvement on that of 2015,” he said.

    NAN