Kwara Cabinet: Petitions flood APC Secretariat

*LGs submit nominees lists

*Ilorin West, waits on Saraki

*Banu, Alege, Ayeni may return

Following the directive for submission of nominees’ lists of the would-be cabinet members of Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed’s second term, aggrieved members of All Progressive Congress (APC) have flooded the state party secretariat with petitions expressing their displeasure over the choice of the nominees, National Pilot can report.

The state APC had directed all 16 LGs caucuses to submit names of consensus candidates for possible consideration and appointment into political offices ranging from Commissioner, Special Adviser, among others.

It was gathered that the petitions followed rejig of the list of nominees earlier complied by local government caucuses for appointive position in some councils.

According to a highly placed party official who spoke with this medium anonymously because he was not allowed to speak to the press on the matter, the issue has snowballed into a “thug of war” in some local government councils.

The lobbying for names of nominees reportedly assumed a new dimension after the reported directive by the leader of the party in the state and Senate President, Bukola Saraki that recycled politicians especially those found wanting in performance index will no longer be accepted.

Since then, attempt to reshuffle the list to accommodate new and fresh names has reportedly generated heavy politicking among traditional ‘power houses’ in the respective local governments who have reportedly vowed to make the list.

To this end, it was gathered that some of those that might be affected have allegedly been frequenting the leader in Abuja and even ‘took their plea’ to him at Umrah during the lesser hajj exercise.

In Ilorin West local government, there were allegedly pockets of protests in Ajikobi, Ogidi and Ojuekun/Zarumi among other wards over the names of nominees that reportedly made the list.

Letters of protests from these wards have reportedly been forwarded to the party and also made available to the leader, Senator Bukola Saraki.

The same scenario was said to have also played out in Moro local governments with protest recorded in some wards like Maigida and Arobadi wards over the choice of candidates that made the list.

This medium however gathered that some local governments have started submitting their harmonised list to the party secretariat.

They include Oke-Ero, Irepodun, Ekiti, Offa, Ilorin East, among others

A top party source at the secretariat who confirmed the incident told this medium that the contest has assumed a frightening dimension in some local government with some party members threatening to pursue their interest to any length even if it means loss of lives.

“Initially, only Oke-Ero, Irepodun and Ekiti have forwarded their list, but that number has since increased.

“Some were told to return their list for not meeting the criteria for submission which include justification for nomination, brief curriculum Vitae of the nominee, among others.

“It has been a thug of war among the members in most local governments as flurry of petitions has flooded the party secretariat regarding this issue.

“It hope that before the weeks runs out, we would have achieved 70-80 success rate in submission after they would have resolved on the list”, the source added.

Meanwhile, former commissioners for Finance and his counterpart for Commerce and Cooperatives, Ademola Banu and Atolagbe Alege are reportedly among the prominent former commissioners whose names may have been included for consideration.

Other prominent names on the list of Local Government according to findings include former Deputy Chief of Staff Government, Christopher Ayeni and Leke Ogungbe who both made the commissionership list of Ekiti Local government.

The list from Irepodun, this medium further gathered includes the names of Raheem Adedoyin and Anu Ibiwoye in addition to Ademola Banu.

Although it was gathered that former Commissioner for Energy, Musa Abullahi, Chief of Staff and Senior legislative Aide to ex-lawmaker, Hon Moshood Mustapha, Alhaji AbdulRasaq Solihu (Abosioyoyan) and Hajia Ramota Oganija made the list to be submitted in Ilorin West for commissioners, it has however emerged as one of the keenly contested list among the 16 local government.

This, it was further gathered, has made the leadership of the party in the local council lead by Saka Isau (SAN) to defer the final submission of the list after the arrival of the leader, Senator Bukola Saraki from Umrah possibly on Friday.

According to findings, Offa local government finally submitted its list after an enlarge caucus meeting that was held at the party secretariat last week.

The local council, it was gathered, has to prone down the names of over 100 names complied because of what a source described as “the political sophistication of the local government”.

However, it was gathered that in Ilorin East, the names of Barrater Akorede, Mumini Lah and Ayinde Ologi have been included in the list of Commissioner nominees while one Gobir, Alhaji Amuda and Surajudeen Akanbi pencilled down for Special Adviser have also made the list.

But what will happen to local governments that failed to submit its list before the scheduled meeting of Saraki with party caucuses?

“Those that failed to agree among themselves before the coming of the leader have automatically shot themselves in the foot because the leader will decide on “those stubborn areas based on the criteria on ground”, another source added.

It would be recalled that shortly after the general elections, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed reportedly promised to inject new bloods into his cabinet, a move that has been severally reemphasised by the leader, Senator Bukola Saraki.

Sources from the various local governments who part of the selection processes gave the consensus list containing 3 commissioner and Special Adviser nominees each that will be forwarded to the state leadership of the party for the final decision.

Some of names on the list include:

Ifelodun

(1) Hon. Yahaya Aro

(2) Captain I.O Ahmed

(3) Alhaja Ajibike Alabi

(4) Olawale Olawomo

(5) Adenike Ayilara

(6) Adebayo Adejumo

Ekiti

(1) Chief C.T Ayeni

(2) Hon. Leke Ogungbe

(3) Olu Ayeni

(4) Orlando Adio Odunjo

(5) Yinka Aje

(6) Mrs Bukky

Asa

(1) Wahab Bolakale lawal

(2) Lamidi Akanbi

(3) Abdulateef Oloyin

(4) Abdulfatai Sholagberu

(5) Dr. Yunus Lawal

Irepodun

(1) Hon. Demola Banu

(2) Hon. Anu Ibiwoye

(3) Raheem Adedoyin

(4) Yinka Olawoye

(5) Barr. Teju Oguntoye

(6) Barr. Ayantola Atolagbe

Oke-Ero

(1) Joseph Olaniyan

(2) Goke Bamidele

(3) Yemisi Ajayi

(4) Kayode Bankole

(5) Olabode Towoju

(6) Mrs. Ope Ibikunle

Ilorin South

(1) Hon. Alege Atolagbe

(2) Hon. Agboola Jimoh

(3) Hajia Ejide Balogun

(4) Haruna Kangile

(5) Isiaka Dan-mairomu

(6) Mrs. Yemi

Moro

(1) Funmilayo Oniwa

(2) Jimoh Baba

(3) Adewunmi Adebayo

(4) Funbi Abdulwahab

(5) MC

Kaima

(1) Ahmed Gunu Omar

(2) Dr. Ahmed Aminat

(3) Adamu Bani Yakub

(4) Jiji Ahmed

(5) Saadu Baba

(6) Hon. Suleiman .A

Isin

(1) Ishola Moses Abiodun

(2) Tunde Agboola

(3) Chief Emmanuel Ibiwoye

(4) Hon. Ladi Onile

(5) Hon. Awoyemi Adekunle

(6) Mrs Habibat Funmilayo Madandola

Ilorin East

(1) Barr. Abdulrasaq Sheu Akorede

(2) Engr. Mumini Lah

(3) Ayinde Ologi

(4) Surajudeen Akanbi

(5) Alhaji Amuda

(6) Gobir

Offa

(1) Tunde Ajaigbe

(2) Mrs Faremi

(3) Alhaji Layiwola Ige

(4) Arch. Taju Sanni

(5) Mr Bisiriyu Balogu

(6) Mr Maryam Adediran

*My wife, son nominated by Moro LG caucus – Oniwa

Alhaji Isaika Oniwa, the Kwara North Senatorial Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was recently accused by some “Concerned Elders” in Moro of foisting his wife and son on the list of nominees for Commissionership and Special Advisers. In this interview with Head Politics, Mumini AbdulKareem, Oniwa shed more light on the raging issue among others in the council: Excerpts

Some members of your constituency stormed the party secretariat last week accusing you of foisting your wife and son on the list submitted by Moro Local council for commissionership and Special Advisers, how do you react to this?

I first read their supposed rant/position in the National Pilot that me and Alhaji Adesina love position, that our children have long been recycled. I am happy that those that made this allegation are our sons and most of them are enemies of our party the APC. If not, if they heard anything they are not clear about, they should approach me as a leader of the party and senatorial chairman in Kwara North. I am aware that only Arobadi and Maigida wards raised issues on this. What they said is very wrong and they should look at their result during the last voting exercise. It was my polling unit that led and we didn’t even use that as criteria. A person should be allowed to reap the benefit of the party he/she has worked for.

But they have alleged that you always want to dominate in Moro and why must it always be you?

It’s not about me but the handiwork of God. I have been in Moro politics since 1976 when some of them were yet unborn. There has been no bonafide member of the party, aside those impostors that have not been compensated with one position or the other, otherwise such a person has not been moving with the party. Some we gave chairman, vice chairman, speaker and what have you because the leader, Senator Bukola Saraki recognises the right of every party member who has toiled for the party and they are not denied. Moreover, most of those people I can tell you are PDP decampees, who don’t have anything to do with our party. At the party secretariat, they couldn’t identify any position with themselves. In all the wards, there is none without councillor or ward chairmen and the list we endorsed was the ratification of the party’s caucus. If you look at the history of my local government in Moro, we have never voted and lost since 1976 when I have become the leader. Our party members will always approach us, the elected councillors or ward chairmen to always clarify issues. But it is those people that lacked electoral value and cannot contribute anything to the political process that are crying wolf where there is absolutely none. Those that accused us of sponsoring our relatives are also guilty of the same allegation. That is politics for you.

How do you react to the allegation that members of the list were handpicked by your loyalists?

I don’t have anything to do with it. It was the caucus that made the case for my wife and not some nonentities in the local government. Those in question were all selected by the party caucus. It’s not a Moro local council affair but according to the constitution of our party, the APC. It involves all the councillors, all the ward chairmen, 6 members from the local government executives and about five members from the local government councils together with the elders. Altogether, we were more than 50 that held the caucus meeting where the list was ratified. All the stakeholders were present. Even the local government Woman Leader, who lost her husband, we accommodated her during the meeting despite the fact that she was still in mourning for her to be given the opportunity to have her say. Our two houses of Assembly members, including the Deputy Speaker, the party chairman and his vice, were all present, including myself. My wife they are talking about and others were not members of the caucus and were automatically absent. They were only nominated by the caucus at the meeting.

Why was the meeting held in the State Assembly complex then?

That is why we maintained that those disgruntled elements are not from our party because this is not the first time. During the last regime when we were electing those in the position now, the caucus held the process of selection at the office of the then Commissioner for Health, who was our highest ranking member then. The present Deputy Speaker, Hon Matthew Okedare as at now is one of the highest ranking Moro indigenes this time around and the caucus gathered in his office to select from the list. During the process, there was no wrangling at all as everybody was happy with the process and choices made to represent the local government in the incoming administration. Those that are making the noise now are not even known as party members.

They alleged you are denying them their rightful place in their party after the leader has given them a lifeline?

It is not about the directive of the leader, Senator Bukola Saraki, but the pull him down at all cost syndrome that has become a tradition for the imposters masquerading as APC members in Moro. Some of them were only able to deliver 2-5 votes during elections and yet they want to direct affairs in the local government. Their letter of protest was endorsed by about 30 of them, is it 30 people that constitute a polling booth or about 500-1000. They don’t understand politics and the issue at stake at all. They should have come to me and I will explain to them.

Why do you think the allegation is coming this time around?

The party only demands 6 people for consideration and those in Moro are more than 6000. Everybody wants to get it and naturally you should expect politicking and lobbying but not this type that is being orchestrated by those who are bereft of the ingredients of politics and only want to reap where they did not sow.

Why the intense tussle on the issue of list of nominees in Moro and other local councils across the state; is it that people misunderstood the directive of the leader, Senator Bukola Saraki?

What the leader said for clarification was that anybody that has worked for the party must be compensated. But those that have been there for long should no longer be recycled. All those that have been mentioned in this case like the former council chairman was once there and left and worked seriously for the party, so he deserved it. My wife they are talking about is Permanent *****III status in Teaching Service Commission, who has just spent three and a half year at the post and has not held any previous position. I, her husband is not educated and all those that have strived for the success of our party come to me for appointments and positions, if we now select those people who are not with us but pretending to be, how will we win in subsequent elections. Being a staff of the Teaching Service Commission, she has appointed many of her constituency members, the position is not one where you can enrich yourself but for service. We are with the leader 100 percent in all his decisions. Once the list gets to him, he will make his input based on experience and we are fully in support of it.

Your take on the APC National Assembly crisis

God has vindicated our Leader, Senator Bukola Saraki. It’s just like what we are saying now, look at the efforts of the leader who delivered 100 percent for the party in Kwara and even in the North Central. Yet he still had enemies when he got there. But God is above us humans and when God has vindicated one, the case is close. God that vindicated the leader is still there and will continue to guide him.

Advice for those opposing you

My advice for those in Moro is that there should be no cause for alarm. We have a leader in the party, who is Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki. This is only a proposal and anybody the leader feels deserves that post, we are all okay with it. We have all worked hard for this party and it is now time to reap the benefit. It is only anybody destined by God that will have it, nobody can impose himself in any position. It is the same God that installed us as leaders of Moro. They should wait for their time which God has predestined. The councillor they complain about will have to step down after three years to make way for another person. Once it has gone round, we will start all over again.

#Politics