The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PDP

  • PDP to lawmakers: impeach Buhari

    THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the National Assembly to enforce legislative instruments against President Muhammadu Buhari to save the nation from imminent collapse.

    In a reaction yesterday, the party said for allegedly sending armed security men to invade the National Assembly and blocking lawmakers from accessing the legislative chambers, President Buhari had crossed the line.

    A statement by the PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the President crossed the line by placing the country’s democracy in jeopardy, thus setting the nation on the path of anarchy.

    The statement said: “The invasion of our highest legislative institution by agents of the Buhari-led executive, a few months after the Senate mace was blazingly carted away by armed hoodlums, is condemnable, reprehensible, unpardonable and completely unacceptable.

    “With this siege, barely a week after presiding officers of the Senate were held hostage at their residences, it has become clear that the Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) intend to forcefully overrun and ultimately shutdown the highest lawmaking organ of the Nigerian government and pave the way for the total suspension of constitutional rule in the country.

     

     

  • Seven Kano lawmakers, 10 others to join PDP

    Seven members of the Kano State House of Assembly and 10 other government aides have concluded plans to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The move followed the defection of the state Deputy Governor, Hafiz Abubakar, to the PDP.

    Abubakar presented his resignation letter to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Sunday ahead of moves to impeach him.

    The lawmakers’ defection came few days after their political godfather, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso dumped the APC for PDP.

    A Special Adviser attached to the Deputy Governor’s Office, Barr. Hafiz Ahmed Bichi, who is among the 10 Senior Special Advisers (SSAs), who tendered their resignation letters on Monday, confirmed the development to The Nation.

    Bichi said the SSAs and lawmakers have concluded the defection arrangements and lobbying for more people to join the train to PDP.

     

     

  • ADC coalition in Oyo, a strange union–APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State says the  pact between former Gov.  Rashidi Ladoja and Chief Michael Koleoso to lead the African Democratic Congress (ADC)  in the state is “ an unholy alliance of strange bedfellows.’’

    APC’s Publicity Secretary, Dr Azeez Olatunde, said this in a statement in  Ibadan on Sunday.

    The News Agency of  Nigeria (NAN) reports that Koleoso,  a chieftain  of the APC,  and Ladoja of  the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had  formed a coalition to lead the ADC in the state.

    “The union of the two notable politicians with some others reminded us of a submission by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo can never be a good friend to any progressive,” it said.

    The APC said it was watching the direction of the alliance, adding  that it was clear that it would head for the rocks.

    “The people of Oyo State can see how the Gov. Abiola Ajimobi’s administration has transformed the state in the last seven years through the right policies that have made Oyo a top destination for investors.

    “Security of lives and property, massive infrastructural development, education reform and urban renewal are among the policies that have redefined Oyo State in the last seven years under the APC.

    “When the 2019 elections  come, the good people of Oyo State will choose sustenance of these dividends of democracy rather than fall for the deceit of an unholy alliance that is self-serving,” the party said.

    “We are watching the direction of the sudden alliance which will likely go the way of Chief Awolowo’s prediction that any alliance of progressives with the conservatives  will surely leave a sour taste in the mouth,” it said.(NAN)

  • Expulsion: PDP writes INEC, DSS, Police over Kashamu, others

    •Senator rejects expulsion from party

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formally notified the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the Police Command in Ogun State of the expulsion of Senator Buruji Kashamu and three others from the party.

    Kashamu representing Ogun East, factional Chairman of PDP in Ogun State, Engr. Bayo Dayo and two others were expelled from the party weeks ago by the PDP National leadership for alleged anti – party activities.

    But Kashamu and Dayo rejected the expulsion, dismissing it as a ruse and illegality that shall not stand.

    They insisted they remained full – fledged members of PDP, saying a subsisting court order protects their membership.

    However a letter by the PDP National Legal Adviser, Emmanuel Enoidem dated August 1 and addressed separately to the trio of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, the State Director of DSS and the Commissioner of Police in the state, said the expelled persons have ceased to be members of PDP.

    The party recalled the National Executive Committee (NEC) at its 80th meeting on July 23, expelled the quartet of Kashamu, the factional state chairman and secretary, Bayo Dayo and Semiu Sodipo respectively and Segun Seriki, for “various infractions and violations of express provisions of the constitution of the party 2017 (as amended).”

    It reads further: “We write to bring to your notice and information that on July 23, 2018, the 80th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expelled Senator Buruji Kashamu, Mr.  Semiu Sodipo,  Engr. Bayo Dayo and Segun Seriki from the party for various infractions  and violations of express provisions of the Constitution of the party 2017 (as amended).

    “Accordingly, they have ceased to be members of our party forthwith and lost all rights and or privileges, to act or represent the party in any capacity whatsoever. The extract of the 80th meeting of the NEC is attached for your perusal,” the letter reads.

     

  • PDP to APC: You can’t woo our members

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop wooing its members into the ruling party.

    Describing the overtures as shameless, despicable and hypocritical, the PDP said the ruling party was desperately gasping for breath.

    In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said the move by the APC was a futile one that was dead on arrival.

    It reads: “The APC attempts futilely to pull off one last survival stunt before facing the gallows, or more so, a mortally wounded snake furtively seeking for one last bite before its inevitable painful death.

    “The PDP has nothing but pity for the APC, who, in its blind desperation, cannot see that the train has since left the station and that nobody, no matter the lure, abandons a cruising liner, which the PDP now represents, to jump into a sinking ship with a disoriented captain which the APC has become.

    “Indeed, no one, no matter the enticement, runs into a collapsing building from where terrified, wounded and traumatized people are already taking flight for their dear lives.

    “Nigerians can now see the shameless hypocrisy of the APC, which is now going about, cap in hand, to beg the same persons it haunted as corrupt and evil, seeing that it has been overrun by the tides.”

    It adds: “Having failed to cow such persons through threats, media trials, trumped up corruption charges and raw violence, the APC is now seeking to ensnare them with promises of political opportunities it no longer has control over.

    “The dilapidated APC, by now, ought to have known that no Nigerian will again fall for its gimmick of false promises and subject him or herself to the prison yard democracy, that it offers.

    “We therefore counsel the APC to leave our members alone and stop acting like that evil character who roams about seeking for whom to devour or drag along into the pit, knowing that his time is short.

    “The APC should quit its antics and find an abandoned cave of history to lick its wounds, having squandered the goodwill given to it by Nigerians in 2015.”

     

  • A political class for enlightened self-interest 101

    Look at the orators in our republics; as long as they are poor, both state and people can only praise their uprightness; but once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy—Aristophanes, Plutus
    Oh, tell me, who first declared, who first proclaimed that man only does nasty things because he does not know his own real interests; and that if he were enlightened, if his eyes were opened to his real normal interests, man would at once cease to do nasty things, would at once become good and noble because, being enlightened and understanding his real advantage, he would see his own advantage in the good and nothing else—Fyodor Dostoyevsky

    The ongoing migration from one party to the other between APC and PDP is troubling, not because it is unusual in Nigeria, but because it demonstrates that the country’s politics tilts more in the direction of selfishness and moves further away from enlightened self-interest expected from leaders. The absence of qualms for the leading political parties to accept members from the other party may not bother the characters moving between parties, but it cannot but bother ordinary citizens whose human fulfilment is left hanging. Especially, citizens who hold to their chests religiously our constitution’s Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy as evidence of a national ideology or aspiration that drives voting behaviour in many parts of the country. Lack of enlightened self-interest on the part of many politicians explains why many of them roam from one party to the other during election season.

    The first quote overleaf is from Poverty a stock character in a comedy written in 388 BCE by Ancient Greece’s master of comedy, Aristophanes. In this play, Plutus (god of wealth similar to Olokun A Soro Dayo in Yoruba) Chremylus, a poor Athenian and his slave Cario went to consult the Oracle at Delphi (equivalent of Babalowo in Yoruba) concerning the old man’s son. Chremylus wanted to know how to socialise his son: about injustice or the rightness of primitive acquisition.  Apollo tells Chremylus to persuade the first man he meets to follow him home. The first person the protagonist meets is a blind beggar. He finally talks the blind beggar into going home with him. Chremylus realizes that his guest is blind and has been made so by Zeus (similar to Olodumare). Lack of sight represents not being able to distinguish between justice and injustice or not being able to tell a just person from an unjust one.

    Chremylus decides to cure Plutus of his blindness, believing that with his sight fully restored, he will be in a better position to distribute wealth in a just way, giving more to the poor and virtuous rather than to the rich and vicious. Plutus’ sight is restored after which he continues to stay as a member of Chremylus’ household. After his cure, Plutus recognises the presence of Poverty (a goddess) who also lives with Chremylus. Poverty’s motto is that deprivation is the source of production and productivity and that without poverty there would be no slaves and luxury. Chremylus disagreed with the goddess. The new distribution system by Plutus changes the dynamics so much that Hermes (similar to Esu in Yoruba religion) came to Chremylus to join his world, which has destabilized the world under the directorship of Zeus. Sacrifices formerly due to the gods have been stopped as all attention in Chremylus’s micro-world has gone to Plutus. The play ends with a procession that takes Plutus to the temple to replace Zeus.

    Without turning our page into a literary analysis classroom, many things happen in this play that should bring Nigeria to mind. An unjust system of wealth distribution by a god without the ability to act fairly in the play is changed into one in which many people who otherwise would remain poor and hopeless become respectable members of their community. So impactful is the transformation brought by Plutus with eyes that can see to the world of Chremylus that Chremylus provides leadership for creating a new cosmos attempts to create a new cosmos not constrained by fear, unfairness, inequality, and inequity, that a god that is logical in his distribution of wealth is replaced by a capricious one.

    In relation to our politicians, our military politicians and their civilian successors pretended to act like Chremylus, by having an ideology of empowerment of citizens in its Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. This section of the constitution seeks to redistribute the wealth of the nation, just as Chremylus changes the god of unfair distribution to one of fairness. The irony is that the constitution’s citizen-centred section is frozen at the level of rhetoric. It has remained non-justiciable since it entered the country’s constitutional history in 1979.

    The practitioners of the constitution in the major political parties habitually look away from the most ideological section of the constitution and looks forward each election season to what to do to remain in power, regardless of what citizens desire. The chances of politicians remaining in power after each election overshadows the cries of citizens for justice and equity, a situation that can be achievable if this section of the constitution is given a chance by making it justiciable and accepting the challenges that may emerge from such decision for both politicians and citizens.

    Unlike political elites in the developed countries that Nigeria’s political leaders rush to for vacation and education of their children: USA, UK, UAE, Europe, and now China, ours in Nigeria refuse to include citizens in the political landscape except keeping and viewing them as voters. Many, if not most, politicians relish acting like what Poverty in Aristophanes’ Play calls upright orators who become fattened enough to feel at ease in conceiving a hatred for justice, planning intrigues against the people and attacking democracy. By running from APC to PDP and vice versa, politicians demonstrate that they are not interested in the fundamental objectives of government but principally in the lucre of office under any party that shows promise of winning election.

    Even pundits on both sides of the divide continue to shout about the rightness of what is now called Buharism and Sarakism or Tambuwalism, the surface of the problem facing Nigeria’s future, depending on whose sides such pundits are.  Is the country’s condition likely to be improved by deification of individuals: Buhari, Saraki, Tambuwal (by Buharists, Sarakists, Tmabuwalists? Undoubtedly, such deification strengthens those whose names have become synonymous with ideology and followers who expect some comfort from such association. But each such Isms further degrade the discourse on governance, as it closes citizens’ eyes and minds to government’s effort to freeze Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy into mere rhetoric, rather than turning them into engine for development.

    Chremylus formed the habit of thinking not only about himself but also about other people. In our country’s past, we have had people who made a habit of thinking of other people as politicians, to the extent that anyone competing with them or coming after them felt that it was compulsory to insert Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State even in a constitution that did not consult the people. Many, if not most, politicians since 1999 have formed the habit of looking away from this important part of the social contract between citizens and rulers. Such politicians have chosen an ideology that promotes just their own interests in the way they think about politics. That politicians of both major parties keep changing party affiliations is not a sign of honesty and political maturity. Our politicians in all parties need to learn from an Ondo proverb: people should not feel bad to name their children Akinduntire, but they should feel ashamed to name them Akinduntirenikan (self-promotion and promotion of self alone respectively). This is a folksy manner of drawing a line between self-interest and enlightened self-interest, the need to act to further the interests of others as a decent way of serving one’s own interest. The culture of joining, staying in, or decamping from a party can only add to the nation’s distractions, without allowing for consideration of its myriad problems.

  • I’ll rather quit politics than leave PDP – Makarfi

    A presidential hopeful, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, has ruled out the possibility of leaving the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for any other political party if he does not win the party’s ticket for the country’s top job in 2019.

    He said he would rather quit politics, instead of joining any other political group.

    Makarfi said this on Saturday while addressing newsmen at the PDP secretariat in Minna, the Niger State capital.

    Thenationonlineng.net reports that Makarfi is in Minna to drum up support for his presidential bid in 2019.

    “If I leave PDP, I would leave politics. If I was to leave PDP, I could have defected a long time ago.So that possibility is not there,” he said

    The one time governor of Kaduna said he predicted the recent mass defections to PDP, adding that the biggest challenge is managing it.

    “I welcome all the defectors and as a matter of fact I predicted it. I said it that after the APC convention you would see a lot of defections and that’s what has happened.

    “But the challenge is how to manage it. If we manage it well, the party would be better for it but if we don’t we may run into problems,” he said.

    His position in Minna on the defectors, is softer than what he said in Lokoja on Friday, when he warned his party against giving them special treatment.

    The said if not for the steadfastness of committed members, PDP could have become history.

    “Some people when you pinch them like this (touching his arm), they will run to another party. When the going was tough, I stayed on… but you accept them into your house and give them your guest room. Next, they take the Master Bedroom; next, they drive you out of your house. We must not allow this, nor give undue advantage to them, so that we do not alienate our people.

    “Modu Sheriff was brought from another party; they said he had three jets; he had billions, but what did he do? He was taking the party down, but I, the ‘bush boy,’ with the support of others, I was able to make members close ranks, and today, we can all see.”

    Makarfi said Senator Bukola Saraki should be left alone as Senate President because he has not breached any provision of the constitution on account of his defection from APC to PDP.

    “The constitution says the senators should elect from among themselves and not from the majority party”, said Makarfi, who also was a senator from 2007 to 2011.

    “Party affiliations are only attached to other positions like minority whip, majority leader and so on

    “Therefore, Saraki should be left alone because he was elected based on constitutional provisions and his continued stay is lawful,” he added

    He noted that addressing issues of insecurity, unemployment, power, infrastructure and national unity would be his top priorities if given the chance to lead the country.

    “A basket of issues including security, infrastructure and power would be top of my priorities.

    “National cohesion is also key because we are divided and getting more divided by the day.

    “And this national cohesion is where the issue of restructuring comes in as it will address unemployment,” he added.

    Thenationonlineng.net reports that Makarfi is a former governor of Kaduna State and immediate past national chairman of the PDP

  • PDP jittery as APC, Akpabio parley

    There were indications that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is in serious talks with the Minority Leader in the Senate, ex-Governor Godswill Akpabio; a move that has unsettled the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

    Akpabio might defect to the APC any moment from now once the “terms” are wrapped up, THE NATION learnt yesterday.

    The APC is upbeat about the prospect, which analysts believe will be a major political mileage for President Muhammadu Buhari in the South-South.

    A PDP top notch said last night that the party has been appealing to the ex-governor not to defect “but we cannot please him and then displease the governor of the state, Deacon Udom Emmanuel, who is the PDP leader in the state.”

    There is no love lost between Akpabio and Emmanuel. Emmanuel was practically made governor by Akpabio in 2015.

    It was learnt that Akpabio had made up his mind to defect on July 24 but was not recognised the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who got wind of his move, to make his intention public.

    Notwithstanding, Akpabio showed signs of his departure from the PDP on Thursday when he boycotted the special meeting of the National Executive Committee of the PDP held to welcome defectors including Saraki and governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Samuel Ortom of Benue state, among others.

    A top APC source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “The APC and some of our leaders are in serious talks with Akpabio, who is rated as a matchmaker in the South-South.

    “The talks border on more deals for the South-South, especially increase in derivation formula; enhanced infrastructure for oil producing areas; how to sustain the ongoing reforms by President Muhammadu Buhari; and arresting the developmental slide in Akwa Ibom State.

    “The former governor said his likely defection to APC is informed more by patriotism than selfish interest.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The terms are still being worked out, but APC is favourably disposed to Akpabio’s defection.

    “The ex-governor has an open mind, he has no airs and he does not pretend in asking for a better nation which he thinks Buhari can offer.

    “In fact, it was part of the talks that made him visit Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday when the PDP national EXCO was meeting in Abuja.

    “We will no doubt accept him into APC. This is a major development from the South-South.”

    Findings, however, confirmed that top PDP leaders, including the National Working Committee of the opposition party, has been jittery in the past few weeks.

    A member of the National Executive Committee of PDP said: “I think Akpabio has irreconcilable differences with Governor Udom Emmanuel and our leaders stepped into the matter and initiated reconciliation.

    “If at the end he is defecting, we are suspecting that he wants to join the APC to settle scores with Emmanuel in 2019. The two leaders have been managing themselves, but Akpabio seems unhappy with the governor.

    “We felt that defection is not an ideal option for Akpabio. Maybe he has another agenda.”

    A member of the NWC said: “By the policy of our party, Governor Emmanuel cannot be denied the right of first refusal for the PDP gubernatorial ticket in 2019. We cannot abandon him to please Akpabio.

    “You can see that as soon as Governor Samuel Ortom defected, he was automatically made the leader of PDP in Benue State.

    “The power equation in PDP at present in Akwa Ibom State does not favour Akpabio. He is bound to be embittered.

    “Some of our leaders have been comparing notes and there is this suspicion that Akpabio might defect because of multiple cases he has with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    “The sad aspect is that the Senate Minority Leader does not share his position with anyone.

    “At one of our meetings during the week, we all noticed that Akpabio was not vibrant and articulate in his speech. He spoke like a despondent leader who is fed up with PDP.

    “Our fears were confirmed when he boycotted the NEC meeting on Thursday. He said he was travelling abroad, only for us to see him at the Villa with VP Osinbajo.

    “Earlier, we learnt that he had wanted to defect to APC on the floor of the Senate on July 24, but the President of the Senate, Dr. Saraki, who got intelligence report, did not allow him to have his way. “

    Saraki also did not read the letters of defection of some PDP Senators to APC before he adjourned the sitting to September; a development APC senators saw as a clear abuse of his position as Senate President.

  • Oshiomhole to PDP: I choose to be an attack dog

    National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has told the Peoples Democratic Party that he would rather be an attack dog than be a mushroom eater.

    Oshiomhole explained that the reason he opted for the tactics he is deploying as National Chairman of the APC was because of the party’s commitment to the Nigeria people.

    Oshiomhole who spoke to reporters at the Bénin Airport while en route to Sapele in Delta State said the APC would continue to engage and pro-attack whether the opposition called him attack dog or not.

    The former Edo Governor stated that the APC would deploy the labour tactics to humble the PDP in Kwara, Benue and Sokoto State.

    According to him, “I asked you to understand that what is at stake is beyond the APC and the PDP. Nigeria is much more than the sum total of all the political parties.

    “We will see who is who in February next year. In Edo, they made this argument that politics is different from labour but we used labour tactics to humble them and they became converted. Exactly the same tactics we used it in Edo, will be used either in Kwara, Benue or Sokoto or anywhere.

    “This is not about me, it is not about them, it is about the Nigeria people. I will not adopt the ruling class tactics to deal with a cankerworm of disease. I offer different style in order to get different outcome.”

    Addressing thousands of APC supporters who were at the Bénin Airport to welcome him, Oshiomhole said the APC under his leadership would not borrow what he termed other people’s style.

    Oshiomhole urged the APC supported not to despair as he would work with President Buhari to ensure the party meets their aspirations.

    He promised to work with Governor Godwin Obaseki to ensure that any concerns the party members have would be addressed satisfactorily.

    According to him, “I will represent the feelings, the aspirations and I will meet your expectations as far as the running of the All Progressives Congress is concerned. We will have to fight odds on the basis of our conviction and we will adjust our style; we will not borrow other peoples style. I am very proud of my working class background and we will bring those values into the leadership and management of the APC.

    Read Also: Resign now, Yoruba youths tell Saraki

    “I will ensure working together with President Buhari that government focuses on the people; that government will not focus on the welfare of the few at the expense of the majority; that government must do everything possible to ensure that those who work have something to show for their labour. We must support the President and the APC to remove all those thieves, all those looters who believe it is their birthright to continue to loot.

    “I want to assure you that the tradition of carry our people along will be sustained. You represent what I call our infantry division. You the ones on election day who ensure that our voters come out. You are the ones who ensure that the PDP rigging machine was defeated. We must keep you as a standing point, together we will match on and will ensure that everyone who works is looked after.

    “I know there are people with all kinds of stories but let me assure you that after the storm the weather will settle. Trust me, as you have not abandoned me, I will never abandon you. To our youths, I want to particularly appeal to you; don’t lose faith. There will be work, there will be participation; there will be involvement. We will not throw away anybody.

    “Nobody will be used and dumped. If yesterday has come beautiful, tomorrow will be better.”

  • Why we returned to the PDP, by Ahmed

    •Saraki supporters hail defection

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has given reasons why he and other former members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Ahmed, who addressed youths under the auspices of Kwara Agenda, said the APC-led Federal Government has not met the wishes and aspirations of the people, and also engaged in political persecution and victimisation of the state party leadership.

    He said: “Most of the political appointments at the federal level were done without any input or consideration from the state party stakeholders, and in flagrant neglect of established principles of federal character.”

    The governor added that some party leaders, who nursed private but personal agendas other than the party manifesto, using the instrumentalities of government, worked against all efforts and entreaties to amicably resolve the impasse.

    “The problem became compounded with ceaseless litigations and harassment of me and the Senate President, with insinuation of complicity in the Offa Robbery,” Ahmed added.

    Youth leader Yakub Haroon, who spoke of their behalf, said: “The APC failed to deliver on its promises to Nigerians, especially the youths. The party has also failed to carry the people of Kwara State along in the scheme of things at the federal level.

    “It is for this that we support the Senate President and governor for finding a new platform to actualise the dreams of our people.”

    Supporters of Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday held a solidarity rally in Ilorin, the Kwara capital, to hail his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The rally held at the Government House.

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

    Their spokesman, Yakub Haruna Kannike, said: “In Kwara, Saraki is our political party and we shall always vote for his party and candidates.

    He has been tested and trusted by the people; 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 severally that our political party in Kwara is Saraki.

    “The simple interpretation of the above is that the people 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.”

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

    Kannike added: “If we may ask, where were the political opponents of the Senate President when he was and still attending to the needs of the people? Those antagonising Saraki are all seasonal and absentee politicians with no record of assisting their communities not to talk of the state. They always come around few months to election to get patronage from their sponsors and attempt to deceive the electorate.

    But thank God, the Kwara electorate are wise and had always rejected them.

    “We are therefore using this forum to sensitise the people on 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 as they will soon desert you as soon as they lose in 2019. 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.”