The Nation Newspaper

Tag: kwara

  • Kwara: Tokenism gone bloody

    Kwara: Tokenism gone bloody

    An old adage insists that even in doing good, beware that you are not imperiled. This is a truism the Saraki dynasty of Kwara State must be ruing right now. In fact the situation they are currently faced with must be so dire that in a manner of speaking, the next time they reach for a garb of charity, they would have to first take it to the drycleaner, have it thoroughly treated, washed, dried-out and iron before donning it.

    Hardball of course ponders the Sallah day tragedy at the Ile Arugbo, Ilofa Road, Ilorin, Kwara residence of Senator Bukola Saraki in which about 20 people died and scores suffered degrees of injuries. Doling out handouts to the mass of the downtrodden people in their community has become something of a family tradition (if we shy from saying ritual) dating back to their late patriarch, Oloye Olusola Saraki. But it must be said that for all the decades that Oloye fed his people, we never heard of any tragedy not to talk of a casualty. And most of his lifetime, his people would line his route from the airport and then converge at his residence each time he was in town. He tended to them as a good shepherd would and they would in return, recite ceaseless prayers and make solemn supplication to God that He apportioned to them, the death that was destined for their Oloye.

    Such was the bond between the Turaki of Ilorin and his people. It can be stated that Oloye was the founder of modern Ilorin if not Kwara State and he held sway over the city and state from thereabouts 1979 up until his death. Though Oloye in designing his political empire, ensured that his scions were positioned to succeed him but as we all witnessed two years ago, the transition had a last minute twist to it leading to Oloye and his heir apparent Bukola (shall we call him small Oloye) slugging it out to a bitter end. It was a tricky little situation of Oloye’s daughter, a senator wanting to succeed son as governor; while the governor on the other hand coveted the senate seat after two terms in the government house. But son, in defiance of father forswore to handover governorship of the state to daughter and sister. Son already had his sight on a candidate he wished to conveniently install in government house not unlike a talking artwork.

    Father, daughter and son could not settle the matter in the family; they chose to test their strengths at the poll. The long and short of this quirky tale is that Oloye fought what was his most bitter political battle at an old, infirm stage of his life and he lost it most ignominiously to his son whom he raised in the finest art of Nigeria’s political warfare. He transited shortly after.

    In African mythology nothing happens for nothing especially matters of death and tragedy. Is it not uncanny that since after the retirement and eventual demise of Oloye, the Oloye Kekere has never been able to reenact the philanthropic tradition of the grand old man of Kwara politics without tragedy and blood-bath? Not once, but three times – 2010, 2011 and 2013 – deaths totaling no fewer than 40 persons have occurred with perhaps twice that number injured. It is not unlikely to hear such gossips in Ilorin today that Oloye remains inexpiable for how come that for about three decades that we have been at this not a drop of blood was spilled. Hardball has read even more sinister insinuations.

    Hardball commiserates with the victims and prays that this last deathly stampede would put paid to this tokenistic nonsense by the Saraki family and among all our leaders and elite. It is hoped this gears their minds towards empowerment instead of further impoverishing the people through worthless handouts. How about this: Last Monday, the Kwara State government initiated a N5 billion youth job creation scheme! Is it for real?

  • Kwara local govt poll: Court adjourns hearing till Oct 28

    Kwara local govt poll: Court adjourns hearing till Oct 28

    •Poll to hold Saturday, says PDP

    A Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, yesterday adjourned hearing on the case filed by some aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    Three chairmanship aspirants, said to be loyal to the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP, challenged the mode of selecting the candidates in the forthcoming local government election.

    They claimed that the candidates’ emergence was in gross violation of the PDP’s constitution, because no primary was held.

    The local government election is expected to hold on Saturday.

    The plaintiffs are: Alhaji Ademola Yusuf, Alhaji Adebayo Jimoh and Prince Haliru Dantosho Mahmud.

    The defendants are: the state PDP, Senator Bukola Saraki and chairman of the state PDP, Alhaji Ishola Balogun-Fulani.

    Also joined in the case are: the chairmanship candidates of the local governments, Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS).

    Counsel to the PDP, Abiodun Dada, yesterday said the emergence of the candidates without conducting a primary was antithetical to the party’s constitution.

    The plaintiffs’ counsel, O.J Adeseko, complained to the court that the state PDP was trying to evade service of summons, arguing that the court bailiff was at the PDP state secretariat severally last week to serve the court summons to no avail.

    Adeseko said the hearing of the interlocutory injunction slated for the day should continue.

    But Justice Olayinka Faaj said the inability of the bailiff to serve the summons was not a sufficient ground to continue the case.

    He adjourned the matter till October 28, when the state PDP would have been sufficiently served.

    Dada had filed a counter-affidavit against the that sworn to in support of the originating summons.

    The lawyer said he had the consent of the PDP National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor Kwon, that “the foundation for the conduct of same local government is the conduct of primary by all the interested candidates”.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has dismissed speculations that the local government election scheduled for Saturday has been postponed.

    Alhaji Mas’ud Adebimpe, the PDP Publicity Secretary, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Omu-Aran yesterday that the party had put in place effective strategies to achieve victory.

    Adebimpe described those behind the rumour as “enemies of progress”.

    The party spokesman urged the party’s supporters to disregard such insinuations.

    “To put the record straight, the party has not cancelled the election as all arrangement as provided for by our party’s constitution and the Electoral Act have been concluded,” he said.

    He said the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking to restrain the electoral body from conducting the poll on the fixed date had been scheduled for a fresh hearing on November 7.

    Adebimpe said the adjournment of the suit did not stop the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) from conducting the election.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘New PDP can’t last in Kwara’

    ‘New PDP can’t last in Kwara’

    Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and former Works Commissioner Afolabi Yunus told reporters in Lagos that the original members of the party are not part of the insurgency led by the factional national chairman, Alhaji Kawu Baraje. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE was there.

    You are the former Principal Secretary to the former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kawu Baraje, who is leading the splinter group, nPDP. Is the faction justifiable?

    I am not one of the people supporting Baraje in the venture to divide the PDP with their self-styled nPDP, which has no place in Kwara State politics and Nigeria in general. As a result of that, I am not with him at all. We are not even happy that he can go to that length because we believe that, having been given the opportunity to serve as the National Secretary by Baba Saraki (may his gentle soul rest in peace), and had the opportunity of becoming the Acting National Chairman, he should remain loyal to the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan. But with all these, Kawu Baraje still went ahead to sabotage the government, considering that he was also given the position of the Chairmanship of the Board of Nigerian Railway Corporation. I believe that it is in Baraje’s character to betray the hands the feed him. Available records show that Bukola Saraki was even against Baraje taking that position. But he went ahead and took that appointment and, at the same time, he is now working against the same government that gave him that opportunity to serve.

    Not only that. Back home, I know Kawu Baraje very well. I am his senior when we talk about politics because I had the opportunity of being a member of the defunct Constitutional Conference in 1994 and I even served under Bukola Saraki Administration in the first tenure. I was Commissioner for Works and Transport between 2003 and 2007, while Kawu Baraje was made Permanent Secretary under Saraki’s government and this appointment was given to him by Baba Saraki because all forces were against Kawu Baraje as a civil servant then becoming Permanent Secretary. But Baba Saraki insisted that Kawu Baraje should be considered for that post. Having been given that post, he served as Permanent Secretary all through and thereafter, Baba Saraki still considered this same Kawu Baraje for the last Constitutional Conference in 2005. It was immediately after that that Baba still nominated this same Kawu Baraje for the position of the National Secretary, and it was when he got there that he started nursing the ambition of working against Baba Saraki’s interest when he teamed up with Bukola to supplant Baba in Kwara politics.

    What is wrong in Baraje’s decision to back former Governor Saraki?

    The general public will agree with me that the step Baraje took against Baba Saraki was an unfortunate step because, having had the opportunities from Baba, people expected him to advise Senator Bukola Saraki against taking steps against Baba Saraki. But he went ahead and gave Senator Bukola the support and ensured that they worked against Baba. So, as a result of this, I am seeing Kawu Baraje as a betrayer when you consider the fact that he betrayed his political mentor in Kwara State and now he has betrayed the President at the national level. Even, while he was in office, he had the opportunity of becoming the NAMA Chairman. All these are enough for him to have advised Bukola against the unfortunate step he took against Baba Saraki.

    Don’t you see any element of truth in what Baraje is fighting for now in the PDP?

    There is no truth in what he is fighting. He is only being selfish and arrogant. In fact, I want to say he is just being parochial. He is narrow minded and that is why they are now just pursuing their own self-styled PDP. It is surprising to many people to hear Kawu Baraje calling himself the Chairman of the new PDP. What sort of new PDP? The original PDP is the only future for Nigeria. We don’t recognise any new PDP or the self-styled version of PDP that they want to bring into place. There is no place for nPDP in Kwara and I know that it has no place in Nigeria. So, for that reason, any reasonable person will not join them because we know they are just buying time.

    I want to even say that I know they have made up their mind about where they are going. Maybe they have another party in mind and they are just buying time with what they are doing. That is just my observation.

    But the new PDP is in control of the government and the structure in Kwara. They produced the governor, the former governor and Kawu Baraje

    The original PDP is still on ground in Kwara State and the PDP in Kwara State has no problem with anybody. People are still interested in the PDP. It is only the way Senator Bukola and his team are managing the affairs of the PDP, that is why some people want to criticise the PDP. But really, the original PDP is on ground in Kwara State and people are prepared to go with the PDP. Those that call themselves the new PDP in Kwara State, we don’t know how they will define it. We don’t know what they will tell us, whether they are a faction of PDP and that they want to have a say in the PDP. No. Majority of the people in Kwara State today are tired of the leadership of Bukola. Baraje even has no place politically.

    You are saying that the loyalists of the mainstream PDP are still in Kwara now, despite the firm control by Bukola and the governor?

    They are still intact. We are very many and people are just waiting for time to come when this self-styled PDP will move to where they belong because we believe strongly that they are not fit to be in PDP.

    The belief is that the followers of original PDP or late Dr Olusola Saraki have moved to the ACPN, which he endorsed before he died

    I want to say that before now, Baba Saraki directed everybody in Kwara State to remain in the PDP. So, the issue of the ACPN in Kwara State is not happening now. Even long before now, while Baba was alive, he directed that nobody should go to any other party, whether CPC or ACN. He said they should all remain in the PDP. Everybody returned to the PDP while Baba was still alive. As far as I’m concerned, Baba never asked us to go to any other party and that is why we remain within PDP.

    But what of Senator Gbemi Saraki, who was fielded on the platform of the ACPN as the governorship candidate?

    I want to tell you that, at that time, it was just a kind of arrangement that came up. We started everything. I was in the PDP too with Baba, but it got to a level that Bukola just said he wanted to hold on to the PDP and let other people go wherever they like. So, that led to the introduction of the ACPN, which was short-lived. But immediately after that election, everybody dropped whatever allegiance they had with the ACPN. It happened within the election period and, immediately after the election, we dropped the idea of anything ACPN. Baba Saraki instructed us to be in PDP and that’s why all along, we have been in PDP. We are still card carrying members of the PDP.

    Are you saying that all the supporters of Oloye Saraki are now back in the PDP?

    All loyalists of Baba Saraki are in PDP. As I’m talking to you, I’m a card carrying member of PDP and I have my membership card with me. So we are still card carrying members of PDP.

    You are supposed to know the National leader of nPDP, Kawu Baraje inside out, do you see him as somebody who fights for principles because what the new PDP is telling us is that they are fighting on the principle of liberating the party from a few persons?

    Very far from that. They are the people that want to introduce a kind of selfishness into the PDP. They are not objective at all. When Baraje was even the National Secretary, the attributes of a good politician were never seen in him at all and efforts to advise him on that did not succeed. He would rather try to play his own parochial interest and have his way and when people come to see Baraje as the National Secretary, he would rather ask them to go and see the Special Assistant or the Principal Assistant. He was literally avoiding people and as a politician, you need not avoid people. You are supposed to listen to people and table solutions to whatever deplorable condition that is before you. But instead of that, Baraje would be avoiding people and as such, I don’t see him as a serious politician. He is not fighting for the interests of the people and he is not fighting for the grassroots. Instead, he is pursuing his own selfish end and that’s why I’m now saying that he’s not fit to be in politics because if you are a politician, you must listen to the masses and table solutions to deplorable conditions before you.

    What about Senator Bukola Saraki? You have worked with him; do you see him fighting for principles?

    I have worked with Senator Bukola and I want to say that he too has not been working for the principle of the common man. Rather, Bukola will bring people from nowhere so that, at the end of the day, they will be responsible only to him. Bukola will not carry the indigenes of Kwara along. Many of us were just pushed aside by Bukola and he will go to Lagos, go to Kaduna, go to Kano, bring in those people that have nowhere to point to as their base.

  • N3b car loan for Kwara civil servants

    N3b car loan for Kwara civil servants

    Our civil servants are the foot soldiers of good governance; those who work silently to ensure our vision for the uncommon development of Kwara State is realised on an effective and efficient basis. We have, however, come to the realisation that the greatest impetus for effective service delivery is the provision of incentives to these hard working civil servants

    Kwara State Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed flagged off the disbursement of N3 billion vehicle loans to civil servants and teachers in the state.

    The first tranche of N1b was disbursed to the beneficiaries earlier in the year.

    The state government is partnering with First Bank Plc in packaging the loan programme for the civil servants.

    “The programme is meant to improve the welfare of civil servants across the state, including secondary and primary school teachers,” Governor Ahmed said.

    In a remark at the launch of the programme in Ilorin, the state capital, Governor Ahmed said: “It is with elation and high sense of satisfaction that I welcome you all to this historic flag-off of the N3billion vehicle loan to civil servants in the state.

    “Our civil servants are the foot soldiers of good governance; those who work silently to ensure our vision for the uncommon development of Kwara State is realised on an effective and efficient basis. We have, however, come to the realisation that the greatest impetus for effective service delivery is the provision of incentives to these hard working civil servants.

    “We accord the welfare of civil servants the highest priority as demonstrated by the prompt payment of salaries, and especially by today’s flag-off of N3b in vehicle loans to qualifying civil servants.

    “Realising the crucial roles of civil servants, this government approved the renovation of offices in ministries of health, commerce and the local government service commission.

    “Also put in place are welfare policies and programmes such as training and re-training of staff for better performance, employment opportunities for the teeming youths of the state through KWABES, approval of the sale of government quarters to sitting civil servants and the recent negotiation with estate developers for providing houses at affordable rate to workers in the state.

    ”It is essential to reiterate at this point that provision of vehicle loan to civil servants is one of the incentive programmes initiated by the immediate past administration of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

    “In keeping with continuity in governance, this administration is sustaining the programme by granting N1billion earlier in the year and flagging off today’s disbursement of an additional N3 billion to civil servants.

    “Let me seize this opportunity to re-affirm the political will and commitment of the government towards providing additional incentives to civil servants such as housing loans and comfortable office accommodation for effective performance. “Indeed, government has concluded plans to build a new secretariat to be occupied by staff of four ministries as part of efforts to create an atmosphere conducive enough to enhanced service delivery.”

    Accordingly, Alhaji Ahmed urged the civil servants “to reciprocate these gestures by being more dedicated to duty and loyalty to the government through efficient and effective performance as outlined in performance contracts.

    “In doing that, you will be contributing to government’s efforts at making life better for all the people of Kwara, including yours and those of your families.”

  • ‘No aggrieved member in Kwara PDP’

    The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has dismissed the insinuation that it has factions.

    The party said those claiming to be pro-Bamanga Tukur-led PDP and challenging the primary for the nomination of its candidates for the October 26 local government election were faceless.

    Some aggrieved chairmanship aspirants, believed to Tukur’s loyalists, last Thursday, filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Ilorin, the state capital.

    They were challenging the modus operandi for selecting/electing the chairmanship candidates at the primary.

    Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the PDP Chairman Ishola Balogun-Fulani said: “We read in the papers that some aggrieved members of our party took us to court, challenging the conduct of our local government election’s primary. To our surprise, up till now, nobody has served us the court notice.

    “As a party, anything we do here is done in accordance with the constitution of the PDP; the primary was conducted in accordance with the constitution of our party.

    “The national headquarters of our party was informed about the primary and it sent people down here to witness the primary and thereafter sent an appeal panel. When the panel members came, they received no complaints from any quarters concerning our primary.

    “The panel members had gone back with their report, certifying that the conduct of the primary was peaceful and fair.

    “Are we even sure that the people who went to court are members of our party or members of another party?

    “As far as we are concerned, there are no aggrieved members of the PDP in Kwara State. The PDP is one in the state because, if there were aggrieved members, the primary would not have been peaceful.

    “According to the constitution of our party, aggrieved members are expected to first report their grievances to the party not law court. All avenues must have been explored before heading to the court.

    “We are confident that the October 26 local government election will hold because there is no court injunction retraining the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) from conducting the election. More so, it is specifically stated in the Electoral Act that no court can stop any election or any primary of any political party.

    “None of those reported to be aggrieved has neither complained to the PDP national, state nor local government level.”

     

     

  • Offa: APC accuses Kwara PDP of fake results

    •PDP, KWSIEC: It’s false 

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Offa chairmanship election rerun, Prince Saheed Popoola, has alleged ongoing falsification of the results by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and officials of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC).

    But KWSIEC and PDP described the allegation as false and baseless.

    PDP scribe and KWSIEC spokesman, Prince Yemi Afolayan and Nuru Dauda, said such a thing never happened.

    In a statement, Popoola said the PDP assembled the returning officers, who served during the rerun at a GRA Ilorin home of a former Works Commissioner from Offa, where they were asked to rewrite some concocted figures and sign same ahead the election petition tribunal.

    Popoola said it was shocking that the Kwara PDP leaders, who are shouting blue murder about the undemocratic tendencies of their national leaders, are the same people, who “supervised and are still supervising the daylight stealing of the mandate of Offa people with impunity.”

    The statement reads: “This is to alert the public to the dubious and despicable rewriting of the Offa election result by the Kwara PDP. This, as everybody can easily guess, is to wriggle out of the defeat and shame that await the party for the shameful announcement of the loser as the winner of the Offa chairmanship/councillorship rerun on August 31.

    “Today, Monday, September 23 at about 11a.m. in the GRA Ilorin home of a former Works Commissioner beside Flower Garden Ilorin, the PDP brought stamped but plain copies of election result sheets and asked the returning officers, who served during the Offa rerun to transfer onto the sheets with their handwriting figures given to them by PDP chieftains and some officials of KWASIEC. The returning officers were also made to sign the newly-concocted results. At about 2p.m., the returning officials left the home of the commissioner, who hails from Offa.

    “This shows the desperation of the Kwara PDP. The behaviour of the Kwara PDP, beginning from the announcement of a fake election result on Radio Kwara to this latest falsification of election result, gives Nigerians a clear picture of Kwara PDP’s leaders, who are crying blue murder over some undemocratic tendencies of the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP even when they supervised, and are still supervising, the daylight stealing of the mandate of Offa people with impunity. Clearly, these fellows are hypocrites and philistines whose sole interest is not whether or not our democracy survives, but the amount of public wealth they convert to personal use.

    “We urge them to desist from this despicable and shameful behaviour in the interest of peace and democracy.”

     

  • Kwara Utd pushed us to our limits -Dolphins

    Kwara Utd pushed us to our limits -Dolphins

    DOLPHINS FC Chief Coach, Hassan Abubakar has admitted that visiting Kwara United of Ilorin did push them to their limits in last Sunday’s match day 33 game at the Liberation Stadium.

    Emen Eduok’s 89th minute strike was all what the Garden City team needed as they took 4points from the maximum six in the away and home meeting against the Afonja Warriors.

    The former Golden Eaglets coach said:“The victory was just from God as we threw in all our arsenals and expertise into the game, but as the game seemed to be heading for a draw, Eduok’s goalgave us the win.

    “Credit too must go to Kwara United as they pushed us to our limits and I hope it doesn’t affect us in our game against Gombe United.

    “To be honest, these fixtures can be killing, play on Sunday and take the whole of Monday traveling for a mid-week game in Gombe then another trip to Borno State for the weekend match day 35 tie against El-Kanemi.

    “It would have been better for us if we made the trip to Maiduguri, but the League Management Company (LMC) in a directive said it wanted all outstanding matches to be played this weekend.

    “Nonetheless, we are professionals in this business, so I expect my players to put in their best come Wednesday.”

    Dolphins are currently placed 8th on the Globacom Premier League log with 47points.

  • ‘Kwara spends N7.2b on Federal road’

    THE Kwara State Government yesterday urged the Federal Government to approve its request to intervene on the reconstruction of the Kaiamma-Kishi Road, which goes across the state and Oyo.

    It also called for the Federal Government’s prompt reimbursement of the state government on the N7.2 billion it spent on the project.

    The Commissioner for Works and Transport, Abubakar Kannike, spoke in Ilorin, the state capital, during the inauguration of the 20th National Council on Works.

    Kannike estimated the Federal Government’s indebtedness to the state on road rehabilitation at N5.5 billion.

    He said: “The state government has continued to intervene on federal roads in the state in the spirit of shared prosperity of the Kwara State Government. For instance, about N8 billion was committed to the Oyo State boundary-Chinkanda (125.8 kilometres) road alone of which about N2.5 billion was refunded about three years ago.

    “Other roads intervened or being intervened on include: Pategi-Kpada-Kogi State boundary road; South-link road, Ilorin; Kulende to Oyun, Ilorin; Post Office to Michael Imoudu Road; Omu-Aran-Landmark University Road and Orhan Bridge on the Ilorin-Igbeti road…”

     

  • Kwara Speaker to police: withdraw my security

    Kwara State House of Assembly Speaker Razaq Atunwa may have joined the fray between the new Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency.

    In solidarity with his leader, Senator Bukola Saraki, the Speaker yesterday said he had notified the police command to withdraw his police security.

    Atunwa condemned last weekend’s withdrawal of Saraki’s security detail by the police.

    He said the Assembly yesterday passed a resolution condemning the police action.

    The Speaker urged Police Commissioner Agboola Oshodi-Glover to immediately reinstate Saraki’s security personnel.

    Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, Atunwa said: “Besides the resolutions by the Assembly today, I, as Speaker, have notified the police commissioner for the Kwara State command that by Friday, September 13, he should relinquish the police security attached to me until the police security of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki is restored.

    “Senator Bukola Saraki is a former governor of Kwara State, having served meritoriously for two terms between 2003 and 2011.

    “By virtue of Section 2(3), Paragraph H of the Third Schedule of the Kwara State Governor and Deputy Governor Payment of Pension Law 2010, Senator Saraki is entitled to the provision of police security as part of his pension entitlement. That was a law validly enacted by the Kwara State House of Assembly.

    “It is quite disconcerting and perturbing that the police command ordered that the police security of the former governor as provided for by law to be withdrawn. This constitutes a clear breach of the law.

    “I understand that the police were compelled to take that action following ‘orders from above’.

    “However, as the Speaker of the House of Assembly, which enacted the law, it would be utterly improper for me to sit indolently and do nothing in the face of such flagrant violation of the law.

    “If the police command does not deem it fit to protect a two-term governor and senator, then it is duplicitous to seek to protect a Speaker.

    “I would like to thank the police commissioner and all his officers for their efforts in combating crime and maintaining law and order throughout the state. I continue to have confidence in their ability to protect all the residents of Kwara State.”

     

  • Kwara CAN suspends participation in religious matters

    The Kwara State branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has suspended its participation in the state’s Committee for Religious Matters.

    The association alleged that appointments at every level in the state are in favour of Muslims.

    The state CAN chairman, Rev James Folaranmi, told reporters yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, that the association was demanding fair representation at all levels from the government.

    The cleric threatened that “if the requests are not attended to, other actions may follow” in the next seven days.

    The Kwara CAN is asking for immediate stop to “marginalisation of Christians, either by design or connivance; a fair share of Christian chairmanship candidates in the October 26 local government election in the state; a fair representation in the State Executive Council and board appointments at the state and federal levels; a stop to “marginalisation” of Christians in the civil service and denial of employment to Christian job seekers.

    It is also asking for the use of merit in the appointment and posting of heads of government-owned schools; “depoliticisation” of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, where it said Muslims are decide for the board and use pilgrimage slots for political patronage.

    The association called for the allocation of a Christian cemetery,which it said has been pending before the state government since 2009.