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Tag: Kwara State

  • Executive, Legislature feud undermining democracy – Aremu

    Labour Leader and governorship aspirant of the Labour Party in Kwara State, Comrade Issa Aremu has said that conflicts between the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government is capable of undermining good governance and democracy in the country.

    Aremu said rather than engage in brinkmanship; both the legislators and the executives must embrace statesmanship as a precondition for sustainable democratic process in Nigeria.

    Read Also:Senate invasion, injury to Nigeria’s democracy – Aremu

    Aremu who is a member of the National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress said Nigeria’s uninterrupted democracy in the last 20 years needed quality people who would stand for fundamental state principles of good governance as contained in 1999 constitution in place of what he called “politicians desperate for immediate pursuit of power and money”.

    Reacting to recent drama at the National Assembly, Comrade Aremu said the survival of the “smartest politicians” must give way to the survival of democratic process in Nigeria.

    He said democratic forces who fought for democracy must not allow the democratic process undermined by “selfishness and cheap carpet crossing”, adding that it was time Nigeria implemented the resolutions of 2014 conference with reference to code of conduct for political parties, political party office holders on carpet crossing.

    He said section 68 (8) of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended), should be further amended to “indicate that any elected official, executive or legislative, who carpet-cross, regardless of the reasons for such, shall automatically forfeit their seat. Such officials are however, free to contest for the position or indeed any other position on the basis of their new political party.

    Meanwhile, former governor of Kaduna state, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa has endorsed Comrade Issa Aremu for the post of governorship of Kwara state citing his commitment to struggle for social justice and development in Nigeria. Speaking when Aremu visited him, Musa said “I support Comrade Aremu 99 per cent. I would have supported him 100 per cent if he runs on PRP. But Labour Party he chooses is part of progressive families committed to socialist transformation of Nigeria”.

    Comrade Aremu disclosed that he was inspired by the progressive record of Alhaji Balarabe as the first executive governor of Kaduna state adding that “am an ideological and political son of Alhaji Balarabe Musa right from my university days”.

    Earlier the President of NUTWN, Comrade John Adaji had disclosed that the 40th anniversary of the Union would hold from Tuesday 16th to Thursday 18th October 2018. Activities include Anniversary Rallies, Lectures, Exhibitions, fashion parade and gala nite/Anniversary Awards in major textile cities of Kano, Kaduna and Lagos. National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGWN) is one of the registered twenty-nine industrial unions, which came into existence after the amalgamation of scores of house unions in 1978.

  • Ekiti election: Fayose’s deputy files 700-page petition against Fayemi

    Urges tribunal to declare him winner of gov. poll

    Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, has dragged the governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, before the Election Petition Tribunal.

    Olusola, who was the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the July 14 governorship election, urged the court to declare him winner of the poll claiming that he scored the highest number of lawful votes cast.

    He urged the jury to set aside the victory of Fayemi, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    According to the result declared by INEC, Fayemi polled a total of 197, 459 to defeat Olusola, who received 178, 121 votes.

    Olusola, who was accompanied by his running mate, Mr. Ayodeji Ogunsakin, submitted a 700-page petition at the tribunal registry within the State High Court premises at about 5.30 pm.

    The statutory 21-day grace allowed by the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) to file a petition by any candidate aggrieved with the outcome expired on Friday.

    Olusola explained that the team of lawyers that will defend his petition will be led by an Ilorin, Kwara State-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Malam Yusuf Ali.

    Speaking with reporters after filing the petition, Olusola said he was motivated to go to court because of what he described as the “brazen robbery” allegedly carried out by INEC in collaboration with federal security forces.

    He alleged that the poll was manipulated by people he described as “political desperadoes using the instruments of the Federal Government.

    The PDP flag bearer also alleged ballot snatching, ballot stuffing, gross falsification of results and the use of security forces to subvert the electoral wishes of Ekiti people.

    Read Also: Fayemi: Ekiti situation has worsened in four years

    He urged his supporters to keep hope alive noting that he has absolute trust in God and the judiciary to retrieve the alleged stolen mandate.

    Olusola said: “Today, I formally filed the much expected petition against the results of the July 14, 2018 governorship election, which was openly manipulated by political desperadoes, using instruments of the federal government.

    “Like I have maintained, I am challenging the election results not out of desperation to be governor, but for reasons of future and posterity, and largely on behalf of the people of Ekiti, who were taken aback by the outcome of the election.

    “Without doubt, the will of the people was subverted by those who have chosen to take Nigeria back to the dark days of ballot stuffing, ballot boxes snatching and outright falsification of election results and I believe they deserve to get justice.

    “I am challenging the election results not out of desperation to be governor, but for reasons of future and posterity, and largely on behalf of the people of Ekiti, who were taken aback by the outcome of the election.

    “Without doubt, the will of the people was subverted by those who have chosen to take Nigeria back to the dark days of ballot stuffing, ballot boxes snatching and outright falsification of election results and I believe they deserve to get justice.

    “As law abiding citizens of our country, the only path of honour to take in a situation like this is the process that we have initiated today, to seek redress against the use of security forces and other instruments of the federal government to suppress the will of our people.

    “Sadly, the desperation of the APC to take over all States in the country, especially those under governors like Dr. Ayodele Fayose perceived as uncompromising has destroyed all the gains made by the PDP government regarding free, fair and credible elections.

    “The mood of Ekiti people when the beneficiary of the electoral robbery was declared winner and up till today is a pointer to the resolve of the people not to accept the subversion of their will and we have answered their calls to use the judiciary to get back their mandate.

    “In doing this, we have presented overwhelming discrepancies in the results declared by INEC to the tribunal to adjudicate upon and I am confident that the popular mandate of the people of Ekiti will not go unrestored. I therefore want Ekiti people to keep hope alive, remain strong and resolute in their belief in God.

    “While we go through this judicial walk to exposing the electoral thievery of July 14, 2018, we urge the good people of Ekiti State, especially my teeming supporters to remain calm, peaceful and prayerful, bearing in mind that those who stole their mandate will not enjoy the benefits for long.

    “I also want to use this opportunity to condemn the indefinite closure of the State Radio and Television stations. No doubt, the closure of the radio and television stations was part of the grand plan to sustain the inglorious use of naked force to rob Ekiti people of their democratic rights, but the people will triumph ultimately”.

    A member of Olusola’s legal team to the petitioner, Mr. Ola Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate, said what the petitioner was asking for is outright nullification of the election that produced Fayemi and declare their client winner of the poll.

    Olanipekun said: “By the time the hearing begins, we are going to prove cases of falsification of results, ballot snatching, ballot stuffing and use of powers to subvert the will of the people.

    “By the time we do this, the whole world can judge whose the actual winner was. We are confident that justice will be done in this case, we are sure that our client shall get justice.

  • Scores of youths hail Saraki’s defection to PDP

    Scores of Senate President Bukola Saraki’s supporters and youths on Thursday held solidarity rally in his honour in Ilorin, the Kwara capital.

    The supporters hailed his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    They insisted that Saraki would always win any election in the state notwithstanding the political platform he chooses to use.

    “In Kwara, Saraki is our political party and we shall always vote for his party and candidates”, spokesman for the youths, Yakub Haruna

    Kannike told newsmen at the entrance gate of the Government House where the over three hours peaceful rally terminated.

    Kannike added: “He (Saraki) has been tested and trusted by the good people of our dear Kwara state. In fact, he does not need to be in any political party to win elections in the state. The people of the state have said it in many fora that our political party in Kwara is “Saraki”.

    “The simple interpretation of the above is that the people of the state are always ready to vote for any party that our leader belongs to, at any point in time. There are so many instances to buttress this assertion.

    Read Also: Saraki’s defection won’t affect APC’s fortunes in 2019’

    “The 2015 election is still very fresh in our memory. Since 2003 when he was elected the governor of the state, Saraki had been provided a purposeful leadership for the people of Kwara state.”

    The processors challenged Saraki’s opponents on the need to show more commitments to the well-being of people of the state, saying it is not vote-catching to be seasonal politicians.

    Said he: “If we may ask, where are the political opponents of the Senate President when he was and still attending to the needs of the good people of Kwara state? Those antagonizing Saraki to selfish interest are all seasonal and absentee politicians with no record of assisting their communities not to talk of the entire state.

    “They always come around few months to election period to get patronage from their sponsors and attempt to deceive the electorate.

    But thank God, the Kwara electorates are very wise and had always rejected them whenever they came around.

    “We are therefore using this forum to sensitize the people of the state to the antics of opposition elements and political spent forces who are jittery over Saraki’s defection to the PDP.

    “They do not have anything to offer you as they will soon desert you as soon as they loose the 2019 general elections. Saraki is our God chosen leader who is always around to share in our happiness and grief. He deserves our support and we shall never cease supporting him.”

  • ‘Those jumping from one party to another are butterfly politicians’

    Labour leader and General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Isa Aremu has said that those decamping from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were butterfly politicians pursuing their personal ambition rather than the interest of the Nigerian people.

    Aremu who formally declared his interest to contest the governorship seat in Kwara State on the platform of the Labour Party said that the statement by the Senate President that he was not given any juicy appointment out of the over 200 given by the federal government as one of the reasons for leaving the APC is a clear indication that he was pursuing personal interest.

    Read Also:Defections: Politicians taking Nigerians for a ride -Okotie-Eboh

    He said those politicians crossing from one party to the other lack the required political ideology to be referred to as politicians, pointing out that during the second republic, politicians could not decamp from one party to the other without being ostracized.

    He said what Kwara State need was not just electoral victory, but liberation, adding that despite being one of the oldest states in the country today, the stage has nothing to show and could not even successfully celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017 when other states like Kano, Lagos and Rivers did same with fanfare.

    He said: “We will not be butterfly politicians, but politicians in the real sense of it. We are not going to be moonlight politicians who move from one place to the other. My idea is to transform Kwara.

    “I read Senator Saraki’s statement and one of the reasons he gave foe decamping was that the federal government gave 200 juicy appointments during this dispensation he said the government gave Katsina, Lagos and others, but never gave him. He spoke about himself and not Kwara.

    “You said the government gave Katsina and that is Katsina even though you might say it is nepotism, but he said he was not given and not the state. The constitution says anybody in office should talk about welfare and security of the people. We will promote personal ethics and dignity of Labour.

    “We have watched the decampment of the big political actors in Kwara State to the PDP. They have a right to that Democratic decision in choosing what they want to do. But what is worrisome to me is the ease with which politicians have become so insensitive to the plight of others.

    “First, you left a party. With all the challenges, some people sat down there to build the party when you moved on to another party. All of a sudden, you have returned to edge them out.

    “If you can do that within a party that gives you an idea of how they run the polity. I am making a pronouncement here that under us, we will be real politicians in the line of the politicians of old, politicians who had principles.

    “What is important is that there was once a Nigeria where moving from one party to the other was a shame. You could not have left NPN and Move to UPN because that was a period of ideas.

    “NPN stood for building houses and they were actually building those houses whether the opposition loved it or not. UPN stood for free education for all. PRP stood for redemption of the poor and they did that. The late Waziri Ibrahim stood for what he called politics without bitterness and he stood by it. I am sure he will be alarmed in his grave now to realize that where he comes from is now a theatre of war and violence.

    “We are coming out of that angle where we will never violate the rights of our people and Labour Party is the only way to go. The Labour Party is the only party that carry human beings in its logo. People should be at the Centre of democracy and the end of development.”

    Speaking on while he was joining the governorship race, Aremu said “My state needs liberation, not just electoral victory because we are disappearing from the map. Our state was created in 1967by Gen. Yakubu Gowon and was Infact the first to be created. There are about four of the, now that still retain their identity. Lagos state, Rivers, Kano and Kwara states.

    “Last year, Kwara state was fifty years old. Lagos state celebrated with fanfare with Governor Ambrose lunching signature projects. Rivers state also celebrated in a big way, the same thing with Kano state. But my state which used to be the gateway to the north and south marked that anniversary as if they were celebrating funeral.

    “This is a state where the political leaders celebrate wedding of their children for almost two months. In sha allahu, under us, we will celebrate state hood every year with Kwara day and bring back the sisterhood of the old state which include Kogi and Niger.

    “I was a member of the national conference; Kwara is the only state without any document in terms of its vision for the state and the country. Other states did that. Under my leadership, there will be voice for Kwara. We will return development back to our people. We will return commonwealth back to our people.

    “It does not make sense that you take stage resources to service few Zimbabwean farmers who produce products that are not available on our menu. Kwara resources will be for Kwara farmers so that they can feed all of us very well. We will stop the elitist projects.

    “How can you be talking of building an aviation college when your people cannot move on the road? Even at that, i5 is cheaper for our children to go and study in South Africa than to go to that aviation college. You don’t fly on the air when your people are using meme NAPEP and Okada.

    “By the grace of God, Kwara under our leadership will be part of the unity of Nigeria. It will not be part of the obstacle to development. We will redefine politics, not in terms of juicy appointments.”

  • Kwara APC group wants Saraki expelled for anti-party

    A group of stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State have called for the expulsion of Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki from the party for anti-party activities and to pave the way for the re-positioning of the party in the state.

    The group who were at the APC national secretariat on a peaceful protest on Tuesday however commended the National Working Committee for adhering to their demand and dissolving the State Executive Committee of the party in Kwara State.

    Spokesman of the group, Tayo Awodiji said the Senate President has been working against the interest of the party either in his utterance and action, adding that most of his action as Senate President has been aimed at frustrating the activities of the government.

    He said “You are not unaware of the development on the political scene where a number of legislators defected from APC to some other parties. Kwara State is affected by this and as a result, we are not pleased and we wrote a letter to the national Chairman and made some demands.

    “Some of the demand include the immediate dissolution of the state Executive in the state. To God be the glory, the National Chairman has been able to take the bull by the horn by dissolving the EXCO. We are here to show appreciation to the National, Working Committee for their response to our demand.

    Read Also: Quit APC now – Kwara Groups tell Gov .Ahmed

    “There are other demands which we have put forward, this include fresh registration of membership in the state to enable know the authentic members of the party. With the step, we are sure that the party will be well prepared to tackle the 2019 general election.

    “We also have other demands, which include the expulsion of Senator Bukola Saraki for his anti-party activities. Before the dissolution of the state EXCO the party has stagnated in Kwara because the leadership is directly under the control of Saraki. We are sure that with the development, the party will be repositioned very soon.

    “Ordinarily, you should expect them to react, but that does not really matter. What matter is that what was done by the NWC is in accordance with the constitution of our party and it has come to stay. In view of that, we have started regrouping in Kwara State and we plan to have genuine members’ t9 steer the ship of the party. Saraki has been casting aspersions on the leadership of the party.”

    They want the national secretariat to approve a fresh registration of party members in the state in other to put real and genuine members of the party in charge of the affairs of the APC in Kwara State.

  • Retired policemen accuse PENCOM of mishandling of pension

    Retired policemen have accused the Pension Commission of Nigeria (PENCOM) of alleged  mishandling of their pension.

    The retired police officers who retired from service between May last year and this year have called on the federal  government  to intervene on the matter.

    The retired police officers said that while none of them including  those who had retired since last year were yet to be paid any money from their contributory pension scheme,  the PENCOM had decided to reduced by half the lump sum it ought to pay them.

    The retirees who disclosed that while still waiting to be paid, many of them had  died of starvation, fallen sick or incured a lot of debt said the about N1.5m which the PENCOM wanted to pay them as lump sum would  be too meagre to meet their needs.

    The retirees told reporters at the weekend in Ilorin,  Kwara  state,  wondered why the pension commission would decide to pay, as lump sum, 25- 30 per cent of their pension when it was, as they claimed, paying  53 per cent to their predecessors.

    ASP Samuel Anzo (rd) who spoke on behalf of the people said the PENCOM did not consult them or give them any consent form for them to fill as agreeing to the reduction before it carried out the arrangement.

    The spokesman described the new arrangement as bad as he alleged that PENCOM deliberately did it to achieve a selfish purpose at the expense of the retirees.

    He said.: “The order which has been sent to all the 21 pension administrators in Nigeria is too bad. It is wickedness because who knows who among the retirees could live long enough to maximally benign the piecemeal payment of the remaining pension. PENCOM want to use, for their investment, the money the pensioners suffered to save compulsorily during their service year and which they hoped to enjoy immediately  after they retire.”

    Anzo  who said they would not collect the money except it is at least 50 per cent of their pension  entitlement called on the federal  government Labour union and other relevant organisation to prevail on the PENCOM  to rescind its decision.

    “We use this medium to  draw the attention of President  Muhammad Buhari,  the Senate and the House of Representatives, Nigeria Labour Congress and all relevant Human Right offices and activist to urgently come to our aid on this issue as PENCOM has finally ordered to pay us peanuts money that could not pay our outstanding debts and pain we have suffered  for.

    “We,  the retirees under the contributory pension commission  of Nigeria and all the 21 Pension Fund Administration (PFA)  hereby want the Federal Government  and all other powerful authorities mentioned above to prevail on the PENCOM not to implement such unjust recent order as it will cause more serious injuries to our lives,” he said.

  • Stakeholders seek dissolution of Kwara APC executive

    Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara on Sunday called for the immediate dissolution of the state’s Party Executive Committee led by Alhaji Balogun Fulani and the conduct of fresh congresses.

    The stakeholders called for the dissolution  after a meeting held in Oro, the country home of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    Mohammed, who read out the resolutions said the stakeholders, agreed that the fresh congresses to be conducted at all levels would include all Kwara APC members and those who are just coming into the party

    The minister said that the stakeholders also resolved “that all those who got appointments by deceit, hiding under the facade of being party men and women, should immediately resign such appointments or be fired”.

    He said the resignations would enable the genuine members of APC to reap where they had sown.

    “We also resolved that the recent gale of defections has now put the APC in a position of true majority in the National Assembly, as those who remain are the ones who are truly committed to the ideals of our great Party

    “That all members and supporters of our great party restate their unflinching support for President Muhammadu Buhari and assure him of a harvest of votes from Kwara State in the 2019 General Elections.

    “That all members should remain calm because there is no cause for alarm,” he said.

    Mohammed  said he was in the state with the permission of the party’s national executive to hold the consultative meetings with the major stakeholders of APC in Kwara.

    He expressed appreciation “to hundreds of supporters who since the announcement of defections have encouraged us via text messages, telephone calls personal visits,  that there is no cause for alarm in Kwara”.

    The minister stressed that the defection notwithstanding, Kwara is solidly for APC and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    At the briefing were factional Chairman of APC, Moshood Bolarinwa, the Secretary, Ganiyu Saka and other key members of the party.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that before the consultative meetings, the minister addressed members and supporters of the party who came to receive him at the playground of Muslim Community Primary School, Oro.

    The minister told the supporters, in their thousands, that the defection of the lawmakers in the National Assembly had exposed the faces of traitors in the party fold.

    “Today is a special day. God has answered our prayers by exposing our political traitors.

    “God has removed stones from our rice and sands in our cassava flakes,” Mohammed who addressed the rally in Yoruba language said.

    He assured that the defection would have no significant negative effect on the party, instead  it would offer an opportunity for its repositioning.

    “We are here today to assure that it is a new dispensation in Kwara APC politics. We are at home today to assure you that the party will be reorganised and repositioned.

    “By exposing the enemies and traitors in our fold, God has given us the opportunities that we have been looking for to reposition our party .

    “These are people who had never given us peace and progress.

    “Today, by the Grace of God and with your support, APC will wax stronger in Kwara. What is in the offing is a mega party,” he said.

    Mohammed said they were prepared to take the party structure back and give it back to the people.

    “The party belongs to you all. We therefore reassure you that God is with us and the people of Kwara are with us.

    “Since the day they decamped, you can see those who have come to our camp are more than those who left,” he said.

    The minister appealed to the members and party supporters to give new entrants a chance.

    He assured that the new dispensation would allow level playing ground devoid of candidates imposition and godfather syndrome.

  • Scores hold rally in support of Buhari in Kwara

    Loyalists and supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday staged peaceful rallies in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital drumming support for the relection of the president in 2019.

    The procession commenced about 10 am in front of the state stadium complex through Unity road along Ibrahim Taiwo road and ended in the Post Office area of the metropolis.

    The processors comprised motorcycle riders, artisans and students.

    They urged the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to publicly declare which political party he belong and also called for his resignation as the senate president.

    Addressing reporters, Spokesperson of the group George Towoju said: “The defection of some members of the National Assembly from the All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the desperate attempts of Nigeria’s Senator Saraki and his co-travelers to continue to embark on undeserving political negotiations and mortgaging the genuine interest of the masses for their personal and individual gains.

    Read Also: Kwara spends N6.5b on water project

    “Having found their political bargains as unwarranted, frivolous, condemnable, barbaric and uncharitable to the overall interest of the entire Nigerian population, it is the resolution of this great movement to pass votes of no confidence on the national assembly under the leadership of Senate President Bukola Saraki for their ill-political characters capable of initiating political disunity and derailing the executive arms of government from implementing masses oriented policies/programmes.

    “We hereby call on Dr. Bukola Saraki to make his political party membership known to Nigerians and resign his appointment as the Senate President with immediate effect in order to allow for better legislative process in the interest of the masses” He said.

    He urged Saraki “to desist from politics of deceit and assassination of character of constituted authorities in pursuant of cheap publicity, undeserving empathy from members of the public and international community as well as personal political gains.

    Towoju hailed President Buhari for his total commitment to the values of democracy, freedom of choice as well as total willingness to work with all members of the National Assembly, irrespective of their political party, for the benefit of the nation.

    He said “We also declare our total support to President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid and we call on men and women of goodwill and conscience to rally round Mr. President in order to salvage the nation from the current political turbulence and always stand by the oppressed so that we can together build a virile and prosperous Nigeria.”

  • NASS defection: Minister urges Kwara APC to remain calm

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has commended member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kwara state for their unflinching commitment to the party.

    In apparent reaction to the gale of recent defection at the National Assembly, the minister in a statement released in Abuja Thursday urged members of the ruling party to remain calm, saying there was no cause for alarm over the recent defection in the party.

    Read Also:‘Lawmakers’ defection not a threat to Buhari’s popularity’

    He stressed that the party leadership at the state is currently consulting with the national leadership of the party, with a view to coming up with a programme of action that will take into consideration the recent developments.

    He also assured the teeming party loyalists that the best action will be taking for the overall interest of the party.

    The statement reads: “Against the backdrop of the recent events at the National Assembly, I want to most sincerely thank all APC members and supporters in Kwara State for their unflinching commitment to ensuring that the party emerges stronger than ever in the state

    “That commitment has been reflected in the overwhelming support and solidarity that we have received, not just from our party members but also from other parties and stakeholders across the state, since the melodrama at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

    “In particular, there has been an expression of overwhelming love and support for President Muhammadu Buhari from across Kwara, in the wake of the defections by federal legislators from Kwara.

    “I call on all our members and supporters in Kwara to remain calm, because there is no cause for alarm.

    “We are currently consulting with the national leadership of our great party, with a view to coming up with a programme of action that will take into consideration the recent developments.

    “Our members and supporters should have no doubt whatsoever that whatever decisions we take after the consultations will be in their overall best interest.”

     

  • Quit APC now – Kwara Groups tell Gov .Ahmed

    Following calls from various stakeholders in Kwara State, the State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed has hinted that he might be quitting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The governor insisted that the party has not met the expectations of the people of Kwara State.

    Governor Ahmed made this known on Thursday at State Banquet Hall, Ilorin while reacting to the requests of various stakeholders in Kwara Central Senatorial District, prevailing on him and the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki to immediately dump the APC.

    The governor recalled how key stakeholders in the ruling APC in the state built the party in 2014 alongside other notable Nigerians with high expectations but were disappointed about the failure of the government at national level to address insecurity, economy and unemployment challenges confronting the nation.

    According to the governor, “We formed APC together in 2014 with the hope to meet the needs and aspirations of the people in critical areas of our national life”.

    He said the leadership of the APC had failed to intervene on critical issues affecting the party and its members, pointing out that injustice within the party is unbearable.

    Read Also: APC will remain focused – Oshiomhole

    Gov Ahmed who thanked the people of the state for their support assured the stakeholders that he would consider their pleas and make public the new platform that would meet the aspirations of the people of the state.

    He also promised that the administration would continue to run an all-inclusive process that would take care of all interests.

    Various stakeholders who spoke at the Town Hall meeting called on the Governor take the state to another political party where their welfare would be guaranteed and expectations would be met.

    In his remarks, the State President of Kwara State Artisans Group, Alhaji Saad Alawaye who commended Gov. Ahmed for his numerous empowerment programmes to the informal sector promised continuous support in moving the state forward.

    The State Chairman, Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Mr. Joshua Adekanye who spoke on behalf of all the 16 local government chairmen, their vice chairmen and 193 councillors expressed readiness to dump the All Progressives Congress in the interest of the people.

    On their parts, the Youth leader, Alhaji Mohammad Ali Baba and the Women Leader, Hajia Rahmat Oganija thanked the governor for his support to the youth and womenfolk in the state.

    They however said they were not comfortable to remain in the APC, citing injustices against the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and called for immediate defection to a better and safer political party.

    The meeting has in attendance Artisans group, market men and women, Okada riders, youth groups among others.