APC welcomes Ex-Kwara commissioner, other PDP decampees with glamour (See Photos)

APC welcomes Ex-Kwara commissioner, other PDP decampees with glamour (See Photos)

Ex-Kwara state information Comrade Ben Duntoye and scores of others yesterday defected from the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in the state.

The event took place at Okerimi Oro in Irepodun local government council area of the state and was attended by the leaders of the APC in the state. Those in attendance at the event includes Kwara South Senatorial Chairman of APC Olayemi Olabanji, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the state Governor, Princess  Bukola Babalola, members of the House of Assembly representing Irepodun Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Tayo Awodiji and Hon.Owolabi Olatunde Rasaq representing Share/Oke Ode Constituency among others.

Addressing the crowd at the event, Comrade Duntoye said that “ordinarily, we are not people who jump from one party to another but after a critical review of this administration and with the obvious steady growth and development being experienced from this progressive and people oriented administration, we are left with no other choice than to dump the PDP for APC in the state so as to join hands with the state Governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq to move the state forward in the interest of Kwarans. Our ideology has always been Kwara first.

“There is no controversy that the style of Governor AdulRazaq administration is less talk but characterised with plenty work which Kwarans appreciate.”

Duntoye who was a commissioner under the then Governor Bukola Saraki, added “the APC as a party has brought a new paradigm shift in the governance of the state which hitherto has endeared many residents of the state from road infrastructure, education, health and a lot of other initiatives that will take Kwara state to the next level.”

Duntoye added that “Governor Abdulrasaq’s sterling leadership being exhibited since he assumed office is worth commendation and this has prompted him to put a programme that would go a long way to bring a better lease of life to the people of the state and also to reduce unemployment among youths, the aged, women  through its Social Investment Programme bill recently passed into law by the state house of assembly”.

He promised the leadership of his new party loyalty and positive contributions that would move the APC and the progressives forward.

He added that, the governor will use his wealth of experience in the private sector to bring his local and international contacts to open up the state by introducing initiatives that will attract foreign direct investment and funding to the State.

Also addressing the gathering Mr. Olabanji described  Comrade Duntoye and other decampees as great political asset to the state, advising them to work more for the upliftment of the party in the state.

He also called on them to see the party as their home by always striving harder to be part of the success story of the party.

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Princess  Babalola commended Duntoye and others for taking the stand to dump PDP for APC in the state.

She called on them to be up and doing so as to ensure the growth of the party in the state.

Babalola enumerated various ongoing projects of the Governor across the 16 local government areas, assured that, the present administration would continue to embark on more meaningful developmental projects that would add value to the socio-economic growth of the state.

 

Wizkid Concert : PDP’s allegations laughable, misplaced, says APC

Wizkid Concert : PDP’s allegations laughable, misplaced, says APC

Our attention has been brought to another pedestrian comments by the opposition in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  which intends to impugn the integrity of the kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq  over an  alleged payment of outrageous sums of money for the Wizkid concert in Ilorin.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) views the allegations by the PDP as laughable and equally misplaced given the trend of developmental initiatives by the kwara State Government in the last seven months.

It is laughable as also claimed by Governor AbdulRazaq to accuse the government of financing the end of the year concert with a whooping sum of N200m.

This smacks off mischief and jealousy on the part of the opposition whose stock in trade during their time was to fleece the treasure at slightest opportunity.

The mouthing platitude of the PDP in the statement issued by its State Publicity Secretary  is another orchestrated attempt to divert the attention of the discerning public from the grievous issues  of mis-governance of their failed political dynasty which is being exhumed by the present government.

For instance,  the revocation of the ill glorified “Ile arugbo,” and other illegally acquired plots of land which was initially meant for the Civil service clinic parking lot and Government Secretariat would give way to a new Government Secretariat to  be erected on the land from next year.

It is fresh in our memories of how our former political leaders were pelted with water sachets and stoned during festivals for failure to deliver democractic dividends to the electorates.

The change in narratives coupled with the rare humility exemplified by AbdulRazaq during public events is projecting the present government in good light and diminishing the credibility of the past Leaders.

The implications of these  people oriented policies have provoked the blizzards of fierce bitter attacks on the government, which is not unexpected from the drowning political group.

We advise the PDP as an opposition to be positive in their approach and come up with constructive criticism that would enhance governance.

 

 

Signed:

Alhaji Tajudeen Folaranmi Aro

State Publicity Secretary

All Progressives Congress

Kwara State Chapter

Ilorin.

 

You won’t be free if AbdulRazaq pursues vendetta, APC fires back at Saraki’s PDP

You won’t be free if AbdulRazaq pursues vendetta, APC fires back at Saraki’s PDP

Our attention has been drawn to a statement issued on Monday evening by Kwara State PDP Publicity Secretary Tunde Ashaolu in which he accused Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of pursuing vendetta against the Saraki family. Mr Ashaolu also shamelessly sermonised about good governance — the very term that never existed in the dictionary of his leaders for 16 years. He also spoke so unabashedly about Public Private Partnership under which his masters fleeced the people of Kwara State of their patrimony and almost sold the state until Kwarans revolted.

Firstly, it appears the PDP either does not understand the word vendetta or is just speaking for the sake of it. We wish to remind the PDP cadres that what their leader did in 2003 in Kwara State was the exact definition of vendetta and simple mindedness. Not only did their government hunt down anyone who disagreed with their politics and denied them of their lawful entitlements, they went ahead to abandon all the developmental projects bequeathed by the late Governor Mohammed Lawal at the detriment of the people. It didn’t matter to them that those projects were prosecuted with public funds. All that mattered was the project ‘Kill Mohammed Lawal legacy’. Can the PDP mention one project that Governor AbdulRazaq has abandoned on grounds of vendetta like their leader did? Can the PDP mention one person, just one person, that the Governor has witch-hunted for their political difference?

In what exposed its addiction to impunity and remorseless misappropriation of public resources, the PDP claimed that Governor AbdulRazaq sought to seize Ile Arugbo. While the issue of Ile Arugbo has been addressed robustly by the Kwara State House of Assembly without any logical response or tenable defence from the Sarakis, we wish to state that this administration owes it a duty to the electorate to ensure that nobody gets away with impunity in Kwara again. That is no vendetta. That is stopping impunity in its track. That was the essence of the Otoge movement! Gone are the days when individuals will wake up one morning and appropriate public properties without going through the due process. Isn’t it shameful that the PDP will even raise that issue when they were supposed to cover their head in shame?

As for its advice for the Governor to give good governance, we say that the PDP and its leaders lack any moral stamina to talk about good governance. Today, the whole world is now being treated to what is a semblance of bottomless Abacha loot in Kwara — apparently one of the several shameful legacies of PDP leaders in Kwara State.

Kwarans are not unaware of the fact that most of the so-called projects of their leaders were white elephant projects designed to corner public funds. How does anyone promote agribusiness— export of farm produce or attract meaningful investments — when not a single road from Kwara’s major agricultural areas was fixed? Apart from the cronies of their principals who benefited from the fraudulent reign, which off-taker will prioritise a state without access road to its agric hub over states with better access roads?

Whereas its leaders left a legacy of impassable roads, lack of water, non-conducive school environment and oppressive reign, the last six months of Governor AbdulRazaq have brought visible change to Kwara State across all sectors. Kwarans can now see what it means to implement a budget after nearly two decades of empty budgets that translated to nothing other than mindless looting of public resources.

In just six months, there is hardly any senatorial district in Kwara State today that is not feeling a change of guard in terms of projects and measured response to public yearnings. People can now safely hope that tomorrow will be better — unlike in their own locust years when money voted for projects ended up in private pockets. The mind-boggling pictures of decrepit public facilities — schools, hospitals, water works, libraries, roads, baseball court, museums and other public monuments — bear grim testimony to the inglorious years of the PDP leaders. The Kwara we inherited was without any meaningful infrastructure even when the debt profile left behind will take generations to pay. Yet not a single dime would have been left in the till if the EFCC had not placed a ban on the state accounts to stop the imminent looting of the allocation and tax refunds that were just coming in.

While we urge our government ably led by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq not to engage in any brickbat with the shameless looters of public treasury, the PDP is on a wild goose chase if it thinks for a second that people will not talk about how much it made nonsense of a state that was on top of the table of everything good in its early days. People will talk and there’s nothing the PDP or its leaders can do about it.

Finally, Governor AbdulRazaq is too preoccupied with the business of restoring the glory of this state. He has no time for any witch-hunt. Were he to be like the Kwara PDP patrons, not a single one of them will be able to walk the streets of Kwara . Such pettiness was the hallmark of their leader in 2003. Kwara won’t go that crude route again. Never again!

Folaranmi Aro
Kwara APC Publicity Secretary
26th November, 2019.