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Tag: Kwara APC

  • Kwara APC condemns attack on members during VP’s visit

    The Kwara State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday  condemned the gun attack on party members during Thursday’s visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Ilorin.

    The  APC Chairman in the state, Mr. Bashir Bolarinwa, asked  the security agencies to swiftly arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice.

    He said the unprovoked attack was the second of such in three days against APC members and supporters in the state.

    Bolarinwa recalled a similar attack on the campaign train of the party’s candidate for the Kwara South Senatorial district, Lola Ashiru, in Ojoku that left one dead, another fighting for his life and many others injured.

    He said it was  an unacceptable act of impunity for criminals to be so emboldened as to carry out an attack while the country’s number two

    man was visiting.

    “We are therefore calling on the security agencies to clamp down on these criminals and swiftly bring them to justice in order to create a peaceful atmosphere for the people of Kwara to exercise their franchise at the polls on Saturday and on March 9, “ he said.

    The Kwara APC Chairman said he is aware that the security agencies have started arresting thugs, hoodlums and other criminals across the state.

    He urged them to intensify their efforts in order to rid the state of those who are bent on sabotaging the elections.

    Bolarinwa commended APC faithful for showing restraint despite the unprovoked and obviously pre-meditated attacks against them, and urged them to continue to maintain peace before, during and after the elections.

    “Our members should never resort to self-help, because we have confidence in the ability of the security agencies to ensure the security of life and property across the state,” he said.

  • Don’t compromise your integrity, Kwara APC tells INEC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against compromising its integrity and neutrality in the deployment of ad hoc workers for the forthcoming general elections.

    The party’s State Chairman Bashir Bolarinwa said the party got information that those posted across the state as Electoral Officers (EOs) and technical workers were nominated and trained by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He also cited the case of an EO who was caught hiding boxes of ballot papers in an office in Kwara North by a vigilant Department of State Service (DSS) officer.

    The APC chairman recalled that when the EO was forced to open the office by the DSS office, he admitted to hiding the boxes but claimed it was a mistake.

    He said: “We have also been inundated with the information that the technical workers in particular, most of whom are trained Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts, are known PDP members and are under strict instructions to manipulate the card readers in favour of the PDP.

    “It is totally unacceptable that INEC, which is the umpire, will work in cahoots with any political party or even accept a list of ad hoc workers from the parties. We are, therefore, calling on security agencies to put all INEC workers under strict surveillance to forestall any attempt to compromise them.

    “On our part, we will also ensure that the process is not compromised by tainted workers.

    “As we have always said, we want a level-playing field for all political parties contesting the elections in the state. It is only then the people can most freely exercise their franchise and the party, which has the support of the people, will emerge victorious.”

    Bolarinwa urged the INEC to make available to the parties the record of sensitive materials it would deploy to all local government areas and wards ahead of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.

    He noted that this would enable the parties to know what is deployed, adding that it would forestall any attempt by desperate politicians bent on rigging the elections.

  • Kwara APC running mate takes O Tó Gé to churches

    There was a mild drama yesterday when the Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate, Kayode Alabi, visited Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) at Gaa Akanbi to appeal for calm following the postponement of the general elections.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the early hours of February 16, postponed the presidential and National Assembly elections to February 23.

    INEC also shifted the governorship and state assembly elections earlier scheduled for March 2 to March 9.

    Alabi, who mounted the pulpit to read the Yoruba version of the Bible, asked the congregation to open to Deuteronomy 3:26 and Number 16:17, both of which contained O Tó Gé.

    Making reference to the scripture, he said the slogan was borne out of the myriad of problems confronting the state, such as moribund industries, lack of pipe borne water and deplorable public schools, among others.

    Alabi, who also visited other churches in Ilorin, the state capital, called for understanding, harmony and hitch-free elections on the rescheduled dates.

    On the sidelines of the visit to churches, Alabi told NAN that Kwara State residents were more resolute to vote the government of their choice.

    NAN reports that some of the churches visited include First ECWA, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) and Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church.

    At the RCCG Mount of Joy Parish, Region 4 headquarters at Sabo Oke, Pastor Akintunde Abdullahi advised the church members to support the APC candidate.

    Abdullahi said: “This is our own; we must support him. I am not a politician, but I love politics. I know we belong to different political parties, but he is our own.

    “If I don’t support my pastor, who else will I support? If any of you is interested in politics, I will support you. The era of shying away from politics is over.”

    Pastor Ilesanmi Samuel of CAC Worldwide decried the situation where politicians often sought God’s support when seeking elective positions but quickly forgot the vows they made after emerging victorious.

    The cleric said God is looking for trusted politicians who would change the face of politics in Kwara and Nigeria, adding that he had always had bitter experiences with politicians.

    “Let it be known that God is raising you for the purpose of changing the face of Kwara politics because the people are suffering,” Samuel said.

    Rev. Babatubde Owojaiye of the First ECWA Church urged the congregants to remain faithful and honest to the people.

  • Kwara APC commends Buhari on new appointment

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been commended for nominating an illustrious son of Kwara State, Alhaji Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi, as a commissioner on the new board of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). Deputy Coordinator, Field Operations, Presidential Campaign Council Kwara State, Kayode Oyin-Zubair, commended President Buhari in a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday.

    “President Buhari has again demonstrated his love for the good people of Kwara State. This administration since it came onboard has given more attention to the welfare of our people and development of the state than its predecessor.Today, Kwara has two ambassadors, a senior minister and several others on various boards. We would have been celebrating Hon. Benjamin Yisa too as a commissioner in Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), if not for the politics of bitterness played by the hawks led by Bukola Saraki that denied us that benefit.

    “This nomination of Alhaji Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi from the north senatorial district excites us in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidential Campaign Council as it will be another promise kept to tell the electorate that President Buhari means well for Kwara.

    “Our party and government are not promising to shift governorship to Kwara North in 2023 but already showing our love and affinity to our people in the north.

    “This is the time for stewardship – we want the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the control of Bukola Saraki to mention how he has helped the region in the last four years. He will do well to tell us, why he mobilised his colleagues to deny them representation in government. President Buhari has two ambassadors from Kwara North and the newest addition a commissioner on RMAFC.

    “We implore Kwarans to come out in good numbers on Monday to receive President Muhammadu Buhari and vote massively next Saturday,” the statement concluded.

     

  • PDP youths protest against CP Egbetokun needless, says Kwara APC

    The Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the protest by some People’s Democratic Party (PDP) youths against the appointment of Kayode Egbetokun as the new commissioner of police of the state as abnormal.

    Scores of PDP on Thursday staged a peaceful protest in Ilorin, the state capital kicking against the deployment of CP Egbetokun to the state ahead of the forthcoming elections.

    In a statement, APC spokesperson in the state,  Tajudeen Aro said that “the basis for the jaundiced position was that Egbetokun at a time in his professional career was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    “However, no one, so far has been able to point a definite, legally justifiable finger for the purported bias of the newly posted Commissioner of Police expected to oversee the conduct of upcoming elections in the state.

    “The time has come to separate the wheat from the chaff in Kwara politics and the apprehension exhibited by the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state by sponsoring the recent rally is needless.

    “This apprehension stems from the fact that this is apparently the only election period that the tyrannical political dynasty in the state would not have the direct or indirect control of the police in the prosecution of its nefarious political agenda.

    “We think it is necessary to puncture the PDP’s posturing through the sponsorship of faceless group to discredit Egbetokun’s appointment.

  • Protest against CP Egbetokun needless, says Kwara APC

    Kwara state All Progressives Congress ( APC ) has described the protest by some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) youths against the appointment of Kayode Egbetokun as new commissioner of police of the state as abnormal.

    Scores of PDP on Thursday this week staged a peaceful protest in Ilorin, the state capital kicking against the deployment of CP Egbetokun to the state ahead of the forthcoming elections.

    In a statement, APC spokesperson in the state Tajudeen Aro said: “The basis for the jaundiced position was that Egbetokun at a time in his professional career was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    “However, no one, so far has been able to point a definite, legally justifiable finger for the purported bias of the newly posted Commissioner of Police expected to oversee the conduct of upcoming elections in the state.

    “The time has come to separate the wheat from the chaff in Kwara politics and the apprehension exhibited by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state by sponsoring the recent rally is needless.

    “This apprehension stems from the fact that this is apparently the only election period that the tyrannical political dynasty in the state would not have the direct or indirect control of the police in the prosecution of its nefarious political agenda.

    “We think it is necessary to puncture the PDP’s posturing through the sponsorship of faceless group to discredit Egbetokun’s appointment.

    “Their line of reasoning is a fallout of the politics of 2003, when the then Commissioner of Police posted to oversee the general elections was an aide of Senator Olusola Saraki, during his reign as Leader of the Senate in the second republic.

    “The hatchet job by the then CP is left for posterity to judge. Could it be fear of retributive justice?

    “This is a new era where votes must count and President Mohammad Buhari is one who will not compromise his integrity in the pursuance of a credible election.

    “We expect the PDP to put a measure of dignity in their approach to issue of security, especially when preparing for eventualities.

    “It is in this light, we pray for wisdom for the PDP in the state.“

  • 2019: Kwara APC urges members to shun violence

    All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state has urged members, supporters and loyalists to eschew any form of violence before, during and after the 2019 general elections in the state.

    The party admonished members to exercise their civic rights by casting their votes in a peaceful manner, saying they should guard their votes jealously.

    State Coordinator, Buhari/Osinbajo (Project 4+4), Mohammed Y.L Idiopopo told THE NATION in Ilorin, the state capital at the sideline of special prayers the group organized for the success of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice Prof Yemi Osinbajo, APC governorship candidate in the state and all other candidates at all levels Idiopopo, an engineer said “piece of advice for all the APC supporters is for them to eschew violence before, during and after the elections, we don’t want anybody to disrupt the electoral processes.

    “I urge everybody to go out on the day of the election to go out and exercise their franchise. I also admonish them to cast their votes and let the votes be counted in your presence.”

    On the chances of APC at the polls, the coordinator said: “We are confident the APC will emerge victorious in the state and at the federal level. Other states that were created alongside Kwara have gone pass us.

    “We are sick and tired of all this underdevelopment. Vast majority of Kwarans are tired of retrogression and that is why they are saying ‘enough is enough.’ APC will win at all levels by the grace of God.

    Read Also: Kwara APC, Ahmed disagree over N70b rice project

    “The revolution is not about APC or any candidate. It is a movement to change the status quo that has held us down over the years.

    “The gathering of today has been put together by the Kwara state chapter of Buhari/Osinbajo 2019. The aim of the programme is to sensitise our people on the forthcoming general elections on the need for them to cast and guard their votes jealously.

    “We also organized a special prayer for President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice Yemi Osinbajo for victory at the polls. We also extended the prayer to the state governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and other candidates at all levels in the state.”

  • Kwara APC, Ahmed disagree over N70b rice project

    The governorship candidate of the Kwara state All Progressives Congress (APC) AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq campaign organisation and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed have disagreed over the yet-to-come to fruition N70 billion Vasolar rice project.

    The Abdulraaq campaign organisation described the state government as one of the most unaccountable in the country.

    But the state government said that the Vasolar rice project was done transparently and with sincerity of purpose.

    Media aide to the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq campaign organization, Rafiu Ajakaye said: “Kwara State government runs the most deceitful and unaccountable government in Nigeria as most of its claims are based on outright falsehood while its projects were often conceived to either give the impression that it was doing something or divert public funds to advance private business interests.

    “A few examples include the Shonga farm project, aviation school, diagnostic centre and recently the so-called International Vocation Centre, all of which the government now says belong to private concerns after public funds had been used to establish them.

    “In 2012, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed entered into an agreement with one Vasolar Consortium which, to quote the governor, ‘will provide a total capital of N70billion over a period of four years while the State government is expected to provide seven million euros and 20,000 hectares of land of which 5,000 hectares will be cultivated yearly.

    “It has been seven long years since that MOU was signed and nothing has been heard of this clearly fraudulent rice project. Where is the public fund sunk into the Vasolar fraud?

    “To further appreciate our O To Ge (enough is enough) campaign, Kwarans may recall the collaboration between Kebbi state government and Lagos on rice production started on March 23, 2016 and the first yield of that collaboration was in the market precisely December 21, 2016.

    “The Igbemo rice in Ekiti started much after the Kwara contraption and the rice is now in market.

    “Just like people cannot point at any benefit from the Shonga farm, into which billions of public funds and resources were sunk, it is safe to call the so-called MOU with Vasolar Consortium a big scam and an economic crime against the people of Kwara.

    But Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ahmed on media and

    Communications Dr Muyideen Akorede said: “There is nothing secret about the Vasolar project. Nothing about the project qualifies it as a scam.

    “For the benefit of the Abdulrahman Abdulrazak campaign organisation, a memorandum of understanding, MOU, is a non-legally binding but formal agreement between two parties. That means it is not binding on either party. It’s public knowledge that the state government entered into a highly publicized MOU with Vasolar to establish an agribusiness venture in Kwara state.

    Read Also: 2019: PDP, APC in battle of supremacy in Delta

    “The company was to contribute funds into the project as equity while the Kwara state government was to contribute land and other infrastructure.

    ”However, the company was unable to raise the equity contribution and therefore pulled out of the planned project. How does that represent a scam?

    “How can a highly publicised agreement between the government and another party which could not be consummated because the latter had a rethink be described as a scam?

    “We urge politicians to avoid commentary that has the potential to scare away potential investors from Kwara State.”

  • Kwara APC’s candidate holds door-to-door campaign

    The Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, at the weekend embarked on a door-to-door mobilisation of voters in Ilorin, the state capital.

    He pledged to ensure the people’s welfare takes the front seat, if elected.

    Abdulrazaq had attended a programme organised by one of his support groups in Karatu Alanamu ward in Ilorin when he suddenly alighted from his vehicle and began a shop-to-shop mobilisation of voters on the street.

    “We appeal to you to vote us and we will never disappoint you. We share your aspirations and frustration and we join you to say O To Ge (Enough is Enough),” he said as he exited an automobile kiosk in the sprawling Adabata area of the ancient town.

    Also, the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq Governorship Campaign Organisation, has urged the Kwara State government to stop its purported bid to pull down the APC billboards.

    The organisation said the O To Ge movement had long been ingrained in the consciousness of the people of the state.

    It insisted that the billboards were erected after legal procedures had been followed and that the excuses by the government that they constituted environmental hazards were mere afterthoughts.

    “We call attention to the fact that this is a state government under the control of Senator Bukola Saraki, who shouts ‘democracy is under threat’ each time he or his lackeys are called to account for their conducts.

    “The only time democracy is being threatened is when his excesses are checked by law enforcement agencies! Democracy is safe and good when his goons go after opposition in Kwara or when he suspends fellow lawmakers who disagree with him,” Rafiu Ajakaye, the media aide to the governorship candidate, said in a statement on Saturday.

  • Kwara APC unveils 293-member governorship campaign council

    Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday unveiled its Governorship Campaign Advisory Council for the March 4 election.

    The council comprises top party chieftains and members drawn from the state’s three senatorial districts.

    It will be chaired by the party’s governorship candidate, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

    Prominent members of the council include the Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; APC National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa Onilu and Kwara APC Chairman Bashir Bolarinwa.

    Others are: Abdullahi Shuaib Yaman, Prof. Abdulrahim Oba, Muhammad Dele Belgore (SAN), Gobiri Ahmed, Kayode Abogunrin and all the former governorship aspirants.

    The list also contained all the candidates for senatorial, House of Representatives and (most of the) House of Assembly polls, state leaders of the party as well as women and youth leaders from across the state, according to a statement by Abdulrazaq’s media aide, Rafiu Ajakaye.

    The statement said the party had also set up a 199-member Elders’ Consultative Forum, led by the Information Minister.

    Other members include Dr Amuda Aluko, former Governor Cornelius Adebayo, Prof Saka Nuhu, Prof Rasheed Ijaodola, Alhaji L. A. K. Jimoh, Senator Simeon Ajibola, Senator Muhammed Ahmed, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, Titus Ashaolu (SAN), Senator Sulaiman Ajadi, Chief Wole Oke, Isa Bio, M. T. Mamman and Hajia Zainab Ibrahim.