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Tag: Saraki

  • Senate may pass 2019 budget in April

    The Senate Tuesday resumed the consideration of the general principles of the 2019 Appropriation Bill with more knocks on the budget.

    The upper chamber slated the passage of the N8.83 trillion budget estimates for next month.

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, after the conclusion of the debate of the general principles of the fiscal document, gave the Appropriation Committee where the budget proposal was referred to, two weeks to turn in its report for consideration and passage.

    The upper chamber resolved to ignore heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, who may fail to appear before the sub-committees to defend their budget proposals.

    Sub-committees were mandated to adopt the proposals as submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to a joint session of the National Assembly at the event that any MDA failed to appear before them.

    The lawmakers resolved, like it was the case in the past, not to run after heads of MDAs who may refuse to appear before the sub-committees to defend their budget proposals and estimates.

    Saraki gave the Appropriation Committee the deadline of April 2, 2019 to submit its report for the consideration of the Senate.

    Read Also: Minimum wage: NLC wants quick implementation, commends Senate

    He said, “The relevant committees should swing into action and ensure that they conclude work on this budget within two weeks. The Committee on Appropriations should submit its report on the 2nd of April so that we can pass the budget.

    “Let me also add that the various committees should not run or force any head of agency to appear. If they don’t appear before the given time, adopt what was submitted by the President and submit your report. That is what you should do.”

    In his contribution to the debate of the general principles of the budget, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, (Abia South) said that the 2019 budget christened “budget consolidation” is actually “a budget of consolidation of poverty.”

    Abaribe who noted that the budget projections did not support the entire template of the budget estimates insisted that fiscal document cannot be implemented.

    The Federal Government, he said, should as a matter of urgent, prepare and send entire new budget by September, for the National Assembly work on.

    Abaribe said: “People who draft budgets for the President give it different names. They write it with their hands in cheek. It means we are paying more debt than spending on projects. When they say budget of consolidation, they are consolidating poverty. This budget will not be implementable.

    “You can see that where we are is just consolidation of poverty. Let them leave this budget. Time is far spent. Let them bring a new budget by September. This budget is a waste of time. I don’t know the essence of this budget they have brought here. Let’s move on to something more important.”

    Senator Suleiman Adokwe, on his own noted that poor allocation and releases to fund capital projects is a major challenge the Executive must tackle for economic growth.

    Adokwe said, “My major problem with the budget is that not much has been voted for capital projects. Year in, year out, we have the same poor allocation to capital projects. Agencies continue to waste money on recurrent expenditure. Even the release of funds for capital projects, has fallen below our expectations.

    “There should be 100 percent release of funds for capital projects. There should also be monitoring of capital projects to ensure that monies released are not misappropriated.”

    Senator Ben Murray Bruce canvassed the scrapping of moribund agencies.

    The Bayelsa State Senator noted that some of the agencies were established in the 1960s and had outlived their relevance.

    He said: “This budget is not different from the one they presented three years ago. There are agencies that were set up in the 1960s. They should be scrapped. We have two percent of Nigerians who are civil servants consuming about 45 percent of our annual budget. We spend trillions on fuel subsidy, but isn’t in our budget. I don’t know what kind of voodoo accounting is this.

    “We need to remove the fuel subsidy. We need to take it out. It is a terrible thing. I am not sure the Labour or Nigerians will complain. They will support the move and ensure that we spend the money on other sectors. This is the right thing to do.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari, when picking his ministers should select smart people and not those current ones who can’t think outside the box. There are brilliant people here who can do better. I don’t know why we select people who are not smart.”

    Senator Matthew Urhoghide, asked the Federal Government to take steps to explore more alternative sources of income to fund its annual budgets.

    He said: “Budgeting has become an annual ritual. We have not been able to put a balanced budget on the table. A serious country must ensure that it has a serious source of income to grow its economy. Even MDAs that are supposed to generate revenues don’t do that anymore.

    “When we keep talking about budgets every year, it becomes an exercise in futility. We need to sit down and talk about how to ensure that the lives of our people are better. Once this budget is referred to the committees, I know that heads of MDAs will not appear as at when due and in the end, they will blame us.“

  • Police want me to implicate Saraki, says Offa robbery suspect

    One of the suspects in the April 5th, 2018 bloody bank robbery in Offa, Offa local government area of Kwara state, Ayoade Akinnibosun on Monday revealed that the police asked him to implicate Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    Akinnibosun alongside two other suspects, Ibikunle Ogunleye (2nd accused person) and Adeola Abraham (3rd accused person) gave testimonies of how police extracted statements from them under duress at a Kwara state High Court, sitting in Ilorin.

    Other accused persons Salaudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran were in court.

    The three accused persons also said that the principal suspect Michael Adikwu in the robbery incident was shot dead by one Inspector Vincent attached to the police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

    The police high command had reportedly announced that Michael Adikwu slumped in their custody and was rushed to the hospital before he finally died.

    IRT which office in Abuja, is headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari Akinnibosun, who is the first accused person, Ogunleye and Abraham in the Offa robbery incident were examined and cross-examined by their counsel Mathias Emeribe and Prosecution counsel Razaq Gold in a trial within trial on how they were tortured and threatened by the police to make confessional statements.

    Prosecution witness Inspector Hitila Hassan had on Thursday told the court that the suspects voluntarily gave their statements under his supervision.

    Lead Prosecuting Counsel Prof Wahab Egbewole sought to tender the statements as exhibit but defence counsel Mathias Emeribe objected.

    Mr. Emeribe argued that the statements were not voluntarily taken, noting that they fell short of the provisions of the Evidence Act particularly sections 28 and 29.

    At Monday proceedings, Akinnibosun said “Abba Kyari told me to mention the name of Senate President Bukola Saraki that he gave me the guns for the operations. But I declined to do contending that my life is at stake.

    “He promised that they would reward me handsomely and set me free if I can indict Senator Saraki. When I disagreed they called some policemen to take me back to their cell. During this time my hands were tied to my legs in the back. Their children are in America and Europe you are allowing yourselves to be used as political thugs.”

    Read Also: Hearing of Offa robbery suspects adjourned for security reasons

    Akinnibosun added that he was the leader of Kwara South Liberation Movement mobilizing young jobless graduates for the Senator representing Kwara South district in the upper legislative chamber, Dr Rafiu Ibrahim.

    The essence is to secure government jobs for the boys, he said. Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye and Adeola Ibrahim gave graphic details of their horrifying experience allegedly in the police custody in Abuja.

    During one of their encounters at the police IRT ‘theatre room,’ they said in their presence Inspector Vincent allegedly shot dead five Fulani men.

    The trio added that it was in the same ‘theatre room that Inspector Vincent otherwise known as ‘Mr. Torture,’ allegedly shot dead Michael Adikwu for failing to indict them in the robbery incident.

    According to Ibikunle Ogunleye “they brought the late Adikwu to implicate us and he said he had not met any of us in his life that is why Mr. Torture shot him to death. “

    Presiding judge, Justice Halimat Salman adjourned the case to March 25th for continuation of trial within trial.

  • Saraki swears in Alfa as Kogi East senator

    Less than three months to the end of the eighth Senate, Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday swore in Air Vice Marshal Isaac Mohammed Alfa as the senator representing Kogi East.

    Alfa replaced Senator Atai Aidoko Ali, who was sacked by the court.

    The inauguration of Alfa yesterday marked the end of a lengthy legal battle over who was the rightful winner of the 2014 senatorial election in Kogi East.

    The Supreme Court, in its judgement, affirmed Alfa as the rightful People’s Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate to represent Kogi East in the 2014 election.

    Finding showed that there was discussion on Tuesday between Saraki and Aidoko to the effect that Alfa should be sworn in as Kogi East senator.

    Read also: Buhari: our best’ll be good enough for Nigeria

    Alfa secured favourable court judgements in the last four years from the High Court up to the Supreme Court on the issue.

    The former Air Chief had on several occasions accused the Senate leadership of disobeying Supreme Court judgements on his inauguration.

    The Supreme Court on January 23, 2019, gave a final judgment that paved the way for the eventual inauguration of Alfa.

  • Alleged N3.5b fraud: Saraki’s aides re-arraigned

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday re-arraigned Senate President Bukola Saraki’s Deputy Chief of Staff Gbenga Makanjuola and two others before Justice Maureen Onyetenu of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

    It accused the defendants of allegedly converting N3.5billion of N19billion London-Paris Club refund to states.

    The defendants were accused of conspiring to disguise the unlawful origin of N3.5billion paid into the account of Melrose General Services Limited.

    The company, along with its operations manager Obiora Amobi and a cashier in the Senate President’s Office Kolawole Shittu, were re-arraigned on an 11-count charge of money laundering.

    They were first arraigned before Justice Babs Kuewumi, but the judge was transferred to Sokoto Division.

    Justice Oyetenu was transferred from Osogbo, Osun State capital, to Lagos to replace him.

    While sitting in Osogbo Division, Justice Oyetenu made news when she sentenced a former lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Prof. Richard Iyiola Akindele, to two years imprisonment for demanding sex to pass one of his students, Monica Osagie.

    She jailed the randy lecturer despite his plea bargain with the prosecution, saying it was a warning to lecturers in the habit of molesting female students.

    EFCC, which first arraigned Saraki’s aides last October 7, alleged that Melrose General Services and Robert Mbonu, said to be at large, between December 14, 2016 and last January “took control” of the money transferred from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) account to Melrose’s Access Bank account numbered 0005892453.

    The commission said they reasonably ought to have known that the money represented proceeds of their unlawful and fraudulent activity.

    Makanjuola was accused of making a cash payment of N50million to Mbonu on December 20, 2016 without going through a financial institution.

    The alleged offence is punishable under Section 1 (a) and Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering Act 2011 and punishable under Section 15 (3) and 16 (2) (b).

    One of the counts reads: “That you, Gbenga Makanjuola, sometime in December 2016 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did accept cash payment of the sum of $500, 000 from Kolawole Shittu without going through a financial institution…”

    EFCC claimed that Melrose General Services, whose alter ego is Mbonu, was never engaged by the NGF for any consultancy services in relation to the Paris and London Club loan refund.

    The commission said the company allegedly recopied and misinterpreted work done by another consortium to the NGF for payment.

    EFCC said Melrose was paid N3.5billion by the NGF on December 14, 2016, and that it moved out about N2.2billion of the N3.5billion, the balance of which the commission had prayed the court to order its forfeiture.

    The defendants pleaded not guilty.

    Justice Onyetenu allowed them to continue on the bail granted them by Justice Kuewumi and adjourned until May 20, 21 and 22 for trial.

  • APC floors Saraki in his LG

    All Progressives Congress (APC) has floored the Senate President Bukola Saraki in his Ilorin West local government area.

    Collating Officer for Ilorin West council in the governorship and House of Assembly elections Prof Gbadebo Olaoye said APC candidate Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq polled 55, 287 while his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart Razak Atunwa scored 25,583.

    APC also won in Pategi local government area with 18, 109 and PDP 2,578. Others are Kaiama APC- 14,829, PDP- 3,386 and Ekiti local government area APC polled 7,938 while scored 3,950.

  • Saraki, a legacy doomed to crash

    The leader of Kwara’s crumbling dynasty has reportedly conceded defeat even as he urged his party to fight to the finish, apparently hoping for a political miracle in the gubernatorial and state assembly elections this Saturday.

    The margins of defeat from the February 23 elections are indisputable just like the resolve of the electorate to break away from the past; a past characterised by cronyism, ineptitude, deceit and profligacy.

    For over four decades, the Saraki political dynasty has held sway dictating who gets what in Kwara State.  The patriarch of the dynasty, Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki, was very popular among his people due to his politics of inclusiveness. He consistently shared in their pains and joy.

    This perhaps led to his election into the upper chamber of the National Assembly and his emergence as the leader of the senate in 1979. From 1979, Saraki installed civilian governors of Kwara State, namely AdamuAttah, Cornelius Adebayo, Sha’aba Lafiaji and Mohammed Lawal who ruled from 1999-2003. In 2003, he fielded his son Dr BukolaSaraki who won two terms as governor.

    Bukola led the affairs of the state from 2003-2011 before installing his crony, Abdulfatah Ahmed, as his successor. The younger Saraki, prior to the demise of his father about a year later, had taken over the leadership of the dynasty and was already dictating affairs of the state. Henceforth, he consistently deployed huge resources to win all elections in the state for his party and candidates. The last of such polls was the 2017 local government election which appeared largely manipulated in his favour. Less than two years later, Saraki and his candidates surprisingly tasted defeat for the first time in the February 23, presidential and National Assembly elections.

    The defeat of Saraki in his bid to return to the senate was excruciating, signalling the end of the dynasty. He lost the election with an unimaginable margin. Flying the PDP flag, the seemingly invincible Saraki lost in all four local governments (Asa, Ilorin West, Ilorin South and Ilorin East) that make up his Kwara Central senatorial district, scoring 68, 994 votes as against 123, 808 votes garnered by his main challenger, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe.

    The senate president not winning his own seat is a big deal. He was simply run out of town. Though the election may have been won and lost, the questions political pundits have been asking is how did Saraki lose this election to the APC candidate he defeated in the same contest in 2011?

    The answers are not far-fetched. They are located in a dismal record of performance; Saraki acting as a tin god; re-cycling discredited politicians and the frustrations of an enlightened electorate encapsulated in the phenomenal slogan: O to ge.

    The outgoing administration of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has been eight wasted years of misrule, characterised by infrastructure deficit, disregard for welfare of workers and several unfulfilled promises. Like his immediate predecessor, Ahmed’s government succeeded in impoverishing the people of Kwara further. Local Government Council and state Universal Basic Education Board workers are owed salaries while pensioners are also owed their gratuities. Many Kwarans are wont to rue the slow pace of infrastructural development, particularly in the last eight years.

    Prior to his defeat, the senate president believed he had Kwara in his grip and that the state is impregnable for any challenger on the political turf.  Preferring to dominate the scene, Saraki deliberately avoided picking popular candidates for elections. He held the fortunes of the state hostage for the last 16 years but Kwarans have had it all; the elastic limit of patience and suffering was overstretched here.

    Another undoing of Saraki was his preference for consistently appointing same set of self-centred individuals into government positions. Some of them have been in government even before Saraki became the governor with no traceable impact in government and their community. He preferred these set of people based on their loyalty to the dynasty and not for their competence or performance. It was therefore not a surprise that virtually all Saraki’s foot soldiers were defeated at their polling units.

    For several years, many Kwarans especially the aged and unemployed youths were satisfied with receiving handouts from the dynasty in the name of empowerment. Not anymore as people of the state have now realized that there is heavy prize to pay for every plate of food or N1,000 worth Ankara they received from the politician.

    The O to ge slogan, translated to mean ‘enough is enough’, was a masterstroke that resonated among the electorate and it became very popular through various radio programmes. It was a ‘quit notice’ to the Saraki dynasty that has brought untold hardship on the people of the state.

    For all those who have been following events in the state, the Saraki dynasty has won elections when it enjoyed the ‘protection’ from the government at the centre. That was not so in 2015 as it rode on the popularity of Muhammadu Buhari to triumph over the opposition. In 2019, Saraki had no federal might. The heavy security presence, effective check of political thugs, re-deployment of INEC officials and security agents he consistently influence with his deep pocket meant Saraki had no machinery to manipulate the outcome of the election.

    The April 5, 2018, Offa bank robbery incident is one sin many Kwarans will for many years hold against the present administration and Saraki. Not that anyone is accusing Governor Ahmed and Saraki as the perpetrators, but it is believed they created the environment for such dastardly act. Ahmed, as the chief security officer of the state, paid kid gloves to the issue of security, especially outside Ilorin, until the bloodletting incident that claimed about 33 lives, including nine policemen. He also failed to create employment opportunities for the youths in the state. They became easy recruits for cultism and robbery.

    Saraki appeared to have incurred the wrath of the people of Offa when he boasted on radio last December that he donated N10million to the families of the victims without minding the unquantifiable value of the 33 lives lost to the unfortunate incident.

    Going to the polls this Saturday, Kwarans appear so determined to nail the coffin of a parasitic political dynasty for good. The indices are constant and it’s a resolve for total liberation.

     

    • Abdulkadir wrote from Ilorin.

  • Guber polls: Saraki confident of victory

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Senate: ‘How we dislodged Saraki, Ajimobi, Akpabio, Alasoadura, Sani’

    When the 9th National Assembly takes off in June, some of the notable names that will be missing on Senators list are Bukola Saraki, the current Senate President; Abiola Ajimobi, current governor of Oyo State ; Godswill Akpabio,erstwhile Minority Leader of the Red Chambers and former governor of Akwa Ibom State; popular human rights activist Shehu Sani; and the Chairman,Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream); Tayo Alasoadura following their defeat in last weekend’s election. How did it happen? Those who defeated them spoke to correspondents Abdulgafar ALABELEWE, Bassey ANTHONY; Damisi OJO, Akure; Yinka ADENIRAN, Ibadan and Adekunle JIMOH, Ilorin

    The National Assembly election is only a week old today, but  the Senator elect for  Kwara Central,Dr. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe is already taking stock of his victory  over  Senate President Bukola Saraki. Oloriegbe, a  former World Health Organisation (WHO) consultant, thanked God and the people for making his victory  possible.

    Saraki’s cup is full – Oloriegbe

    “My reaction is that of gratitude to the Almighty God. He who gives power to who He wishes and takes power from He wishes,” he said in an interview in Ilorin.

    He said the people went a step further to demonstrate that they meant business with  to the slogan “O to ge”.

    The people, according to him, decided to “walk the talk because the talk has been enough is enough (“O to ge”) and the voice was loud.

    “This voice was demonstrated at the polls by voting out those that they considered were not delivering the dividends of democracy in the real sense of it. Those they considered as selfish, self-centred and those that used our commonwealth for self.

    “Those that have not provided Kwarans good education, healthcare, good roads, potable water. Those that have been cutting the people’s salaries. These are all the issues and more. Lack of job opportunities for the youth.

    “The other reaction is to look at the enormity of the current situation and the expectations of the people from us for the true change to happen in the state. But on that one, my belief is that we have good intention and our belief is that the people are still with us and they should be patient with us to start together with them to correct the wrongs on the past.”

    On the description of the voting pattern in the state as a revolution,Oloriegbe said: “ It is a combination of so many factors. It is not only about the revolution. Yes, there was that revolutionary movement of ‘O to ge’.

    “Kwara central people had made request to opposition parties to present candidates that are credible and have track records of performance for them to vote.

    “O to ge came up, but going back into history, 2015 people were in despair against the candidates presented by the opposition party against the status quo.

    “Then, if you go back to 2011 when I was the candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), if you look at the performance when my current opponent, Senator Bukola Saraki, was a sitting governor, people voted massively for me.

    “The supposed winning by him then came from Asa local government area of the state, where the voters’ turnout was claimed to be over 80 percent as compared to the Ilorin metropolis where the voters’ turnout was put at about 40 percent.

    “That was a reflection of what should have been. In my view, I think the two factors came together. But far and above all those factors and human conjectures, it is God’s time that has come.

    “As we all know, in life nobody will live in perpetuity. It is only God.”

    Asked what had changed between the previous elections when  Saraki had defeated him and now for the people to go for him this time around,the senator-elect said: “There are several things that have probably changed. But there are certain things that have not changed.

    “Even in 2011 when he said he defeated me and I accepted the verdict but then at the tribunal, we proved that there were a lot of irregularities in that election. But through the use of the federal might, we were not able to get anywhere.

    “That was unfair. Now we have not used any federal might, we have ensured a level-playing ground. Apart from that, INEC is now stronger and more transparent. The use of the card readers has prevented many politicians to manipulate the elections. With card readers, there cannot be over-voting again.

    “What has changed again is that the cup of the Saraki dynasty is  full beyond what the people can tolerate.

    “People have become intolerable of the bad governance they have been experiencing in the last eight years.

    “Eight years ago, when he left as   governor for the Senate, things were not as bad as they are now. Salaries of workers were paid then but now they are not paid.

    “The current Abdulfatah Ahmed administration, which Saraki installed, has not performed at all. Of course, we cannot totally remove his attitude to the APC government, a platform that he used to get the Senate Presidency.

    “He worked against that party to become a minority in the National Assembly, minority in terms of leaders and not in terms of membership; that is particularly important for us, especially Ilorin people as he cannot handle trust.

    “He used his position to work against Buhari. Buhari, in Ilorin, is a friend by virtue of his friendship and relationship with the late Major General Tunde Idiagbon. Ilorin people see the sincerity and credibility of Buhari.”

     

    It’s a surprise Shehu Sani got up to 70,000 votes, says Uba Sani

    Kaduna Central Senator-elect, Malam Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC),who defeated  incumbent Senator Shehu Sani, also spoke on his own triumph at the polls.

    Sani came a distant third  in the race with 70,613 votes.

    Second was Lawal Adamu of the PDP  who had  195,497 votes. Uba Sani recorded  355,242  votes.

    Aiming a dig at Shehu,the senator-elect said: “It is even a surprise to me that Shehu Sani got up the 70,000 votes that he got. I didn’t even expect him to get more than half of what he got. So, I congratulate him for even getting 70,000 votes.”

    They used to be in the same party,APC,until Shehu fell out with Governor Nasir El-Rufai apparently because of Shehu’s ambition to succeed the former.

    A parting of ways between the governor and Shehu soon came when El-Rufai vehemently refused to give the senator another chance to contest on the platform of the APC.

    He accused Shehu of working against the interest of the people by voting in the Senate against the approval of a $350million World Bank loan for the state.

    Shehu moved on and berthed in the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

    Uba Sani believes that Shehu’s constituents have repaid him back for abandoning them.

    “Defeating an incumbent like Senator Shehu Sani is as easy as anything because, right from the very moment he was elected, he abandoned the principles of the APC,” he told The Nation.

    He added: “The principles of the APC require that you are close to the people, but he abandoned the very people that elected him.

    “Kaduna central zone is a very important one, where you have a lot of elite and highly educated people, who know what is going on in the National Assembly.

    “So, if you don’t constantly come back to tell them what you are doing, ask about their problems and go back to the assembly to make a case for them, and promote the development of their constituency, they will vote you out.

    “An instance is the issue of the $350million World Bank loan the Kaduna State government requested for. Shehu Sani rejected it. He might have take n it as a joke, and I saw his explanation for rejecting the loan, but that was a major mistake he made. You don’t toy with the interest of your people; we are talking about nine million people of Kaduna State.

    “When you look at the template we submitted to the World Bank, we are supposed to build over 1,000 schools, primary and secondary schools and enhance our healthcare. We are building infrastructure in Kaduna, and someone sat there saying, I am going to block this loan, simply because he didn’t want Governor Nasir El-Rufai to achieve anything.

    “For me, it is not about El-Rufai, it is about nine million people of Kaduna State, and that singular act made us to be able to defeat the incumbent. He committed a lot of unfortunate errors.

    “I also challenge you to go to his constituency office, you will see it taken over by dust, because he has not opened it in the last two years. You cannot do that in Kaduna central, and that is why we found it very easy to defeat the incumbent.”

    Uba Sani also said that the party on which platform he(Shehu Sani)contested –PRP-  has no structure to win an election.

    His words: ” I don’t think the PRP has any structure on ground to win an election. In fact, he (Shehu) should be worried that it is so bad that he even lost in his polling unit; APC which is my party is a very popular one in Kaduna central zone, Kaduna State and Nigeria as a whole.

    “The truth of the matter is that, we never regarded PRP as our challenger in this contest and of course, you know that  the major reason why he was rejected is that, he abandoned his people. “Take for example the situation in Birnin Gwari, the road from Kaduna to Birnin Gwari, which is a federal one, and as a senator for almost four years, he never for one day made a case for the government to  do anything on the road until recently when Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai reached out to the federal government, which  has made a commitment to fixing the road.

    “So, for me, the people of Birnin Gwari rejected him because he abandoned them; he never for one day stood up on the floor of the National Assembly to move a motion on the security challenges in Birnin Gwari.

    Read also: Horror moments for Saraki, Southwest politician

    Why Ajimobi fell- Balogun

    The senator-elect for Oyo South District, Dr Kola Balogun,sees the hand of God in his election.

    “My victory is absolutely by God’s mercy,” Balogun told The Nation in Ibadan.

    He said: “My victory is absolutely by God’s mercy.

    “And talking about political factors, I will say that through my interaction with the people of the district, I discovered that they were tired of government policies and programmes, particularly at the local level.

    “There is so much poverty, there is the inability of the government to develop the local economy, pay salaries promptly, pay serious attention to the entitlements of pensioners, ensure that collapsing infrastructure are attended to, revamp the education sector, inability to pay teachers’ salaries, provide teaching aids, affordable healthcare, develop agriculture, which is one of what we can leverage on to provide employment for our youths, inability to assist market men and women with low interest loans and inability of the government to provide security. All these produced hopelessness.

    “But we presented better alternatives which people embraced. We also leveraged on my track record. They also saw my sincerity of purpose during my interaction with them. They saw that I could represent them well.”

    On how he feels after defeating the incumbent, Sen. Soji Akanbi and the APC candidate, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Balogun said: “I give all the glory to God. It is not by my power. I thank God and I feel fulfilled. I also thank the good people of Oyo South Senatorial District for their tremendous show of support. I reassure them that I will not disappoint them.”

    I knew God was going help me defeat Akpabio, says  Ekpenyong

    Dr. Chris Ekpenyong, who defeated Senator Godswill Akpabio  in Akwa Ibom Northwest also attributes his victory to God.

    Ekpenyong, deputy governor of the state between 1999 and 2007, said his own  political sagacity also went a long way to give him victory.

    “It was just like what happened to Jehoshaphat in the Bible when he was accosted by people with chariots and weapons and he called upon the name of the Lord and the enemies vanished,” he said in Uyo.

    “I knew I was going to beat him because I was backed  up by the blood of Jesus Christ.

    “God led me to the political battle field with prayers as my only weapon of war. I made several supplications to God asking Him to let His will be done in the election.

    “I’m glad God gave me victory; it shows that there is always victory in humility. I told God to come and set His people free the way He set the Israelites free from the hands of pharoah.”

    On his mission in the Senate, Ekpeyong said:“Since the war ended, our people are yet to be rehabilitated and reintegrated. There is no reconstruction and we are still having the relics of war.

    “We need reconstruction, rehabilitation and reintegration. Governments have come and gone, yet no action.

    “We need someone to bring it to the front burner. My primary responsibility is to ensure that there will be good laws and resolutions that will positively change the fortunes of the people of Akwa Ibom north west senatorial district. My victory is from God”.

    He said he supported and worked for Senator Godswill Akpabio’s reelection until he dumped the PDP for APC in August 2018.

    According to him, “In 2007 when I laboured for power shift to our senatorial district, Akpabio contested and won as governor; I supported him.

    “When he wanted to go  for a  second term, he took me to the then President Jonathan and I knelt down and begged Jonathan to allow him contest a second term as governor.

    “I didn’t do it for a fee but  I showed humility in service.

    “In 2015, Akpabio went to the Senate, I supported him. Even in 2018 when he declared for reelection, I supported him wholeheartedly until he left PDP for APC and the PDP fielded me to contest against him.  It is just a change of baton.

    “My name is Christopher and I am a cross bearer, I bear the cross of my people “.

    Akinyelure: my victory is of God

    Mr.Ayo Akinyelure (PDP)  is returning to the Senate for a second time after defeating Mr.Tayo Alasoadura (APC) and former Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Zenith Labour Party in the contest for the   Ondo Central District ticket.

    Incidentally, it was Alasoadura who defeated Akinyelure in 2015.Akinyelure,like Ekpeyong and Balogun, attributed  his victory to God.

    He was also full of praises for his  constituents for reposing confidence in him.

    “My people had resolved to pay me back for the good work I delivered to Ondo Central during my stewardship in the 7th Assembly as the senator  that represented the district,” he said.

    “During that period, I was able to add value to the citizenry of the  district by providing employment for over 550 graduates in various federal ministries and parastatals and many empowerment programmes designed to raise my people.”

    Recalling his defeat by Alasoadura in 2015,the senator-elect said:”When I was defeated in 2015 election by Senator Alasoadura, I was the first to congratulate him and accepted the verdict of my people.

    “The incumbent came second in the just concluded election,and has congratulated me.”

    This developnent,he said, demonstrated the spirit of sportsmanship.

    However, he said he was still expecting a congratulatory message from former Governor  Mimiko.

    He said:”He should remember that one good turn deserves another. We all stood by him when the whole Ondo State decided to vote him twice as governor of the state.

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    “Ondo State belongs all of us and therefore, any one of us is qualified at one time or the other to be chosen by the majority of the people of Ondo State, particularly Ondo Central to represent their interest.

    “It is,therefore, my turn now, and they have resolved to re-elect me to the Senate as a ranking senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

  • Horror moments for Saraki, Southwest politician

    THESE are not the best of times for Senate President Bukola Saraki and a popular South West politician, following their varying misfortunes at the polls last Saturday.

    After he was roundly defeated by his APC opponent in the contest for the Kwara Central Senatorial seat, the people of Ilorin chose to punch Saraki further while he already lay on the floor.

    As his convoy departed Ilorin in sullen mood a day after the election, a crowd of the young and the elderly gathered and jeered at the man who was bestrode the political landscape of the state like a colossus. How the people knew that he was leaving town remains a mystery.

    As Saraki’s convoy sneaked out of town, the people ran after him, shouting in peculiar Ilorin accent: “Lilo loo lo (you have no choice but leave), calling him unprintable names in addition.

    On his part, the Southwest politician, who contested a seat in the National Assembly, was said to have caused a stir when he realised that the results that were coming in were not favourable to him. Surrounded by his political associates as the results were being released, he was said to have turned to them and said: “E n womi niran ni? Mo nlo nuu (are you people just looking at me? I’m on the way out!)

  • Saraki to Kwara polls winners: best of luck

    •’People who emerged are not my enemies’

    Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki yesterday broke his silence over his defeat in Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly election in Kwara State.

    He stated that in spite of the reported inadequacies that attended the elections in Kwara State, he is wishing the candidates, who emerged from the elections the best of luck.

    The Senate President, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, noted that while the election was generally peaceful, there were inadequacies like the card readers not used in over 70 per cent of the polling units.

    He added that there were also “multiple-voting, over-voting and other discrepancies” that were reported by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) agents across the state.

    The Senate President noted that the state PDP chapter would take a position on the right response to the inadequacies.

    Saraki said: “However, whatever the final outcome of the election, I wish the candidates that have emerged all the best in their attempts to serve our people. It is my prayers that the good people of Kwara State will always have the best from any government, both at state and federal levels.

    “As a product of a family and a political structure that is, from its foundation, devoted to the service and development of our state and its people, it is my wish that our people will always have a good deal at all times.

    “The new development will even provide the people the opportunity to compare and contrast. After all, the people who have emerged from last Saturday’s election are not my enemies. They are fellow Kwarans.

    “As we prepare for the March 9, 2019 governorship and House of Assembly elections, let me reiterate my position that the candidates of the PDP in the election represent the best materials for our dear state, Kwara.

    “Therefore, I enjoin our people to come out en masse on election day and vote for them. I am going to work with our party leaders to further sell the PDP candidates to the general public.

    “I thank all Nigerians for their goodwill and to enjoin all of us that as we patiently await the outcome of the presidential election, we pray for peace, unity and genuine development in our country.

    “It is also our prayers that at all times, the wish of the people will always prevail in the choice of the leadership and the electorate will always enjoy the benefit of good governance.”