Nigeria: APC Move Against Saraki’s Loyalist In Govrenment

Eniola Olayemi

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says some of the loyalists of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, holding federal executive positions will soon be shown the way out.

The Minister disclosed this on Thursday in Ilorin at a ceremony organised by the Kwara All Progressives Congress (APC) to sensitise and mobilise the party’s women leaders ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that thousands of Kwara APC women, who turned up at the event, were lectured on their roles and expectations during the general elections.

The minister said that despite the stance of Saraki, in using his position to sabotage national development to the detriment of the people, his loyalists from Kwara were still occupying executive positions.

He said the Federal Government would not hesitate to sack those beneficiaries in executive positions.

‘‘Some of the people they nominated to the boards of government’s agencies and parastatals are still there, yet they claim that Kwara has not benefitted from this Federal Government.

‘‘These people, some of whom are holding executive positions, will soon be shown the way out,’’ he said.

Mohammed said Kwara elections, like that of the general poll, would be issue-based devoid of ethnicity, religion or gender.

He said the issues the APC is concerned with in Kwara have to do with good governance and better life for the people.

The minister alleged that 40 years of the over five decades of the creation of Kwara, the Saraki family had cornered the state’s commonwealth.

‘‘The main issues here have to do with how our state has been governed in the past 50 years, 40 of which have been dominated by a single family.

‘‘What has happened to the commonwealth, which has been cornered by a single dynasty at the expense of the people.

‘‘Where are the roads and other infrastructure to justify the huge resources that have accrued to the state?

‘‘If you follow a path for so long, and it leads you nowhere, won’t you try another path? These are the issues,’’ he said.

The minister stressed that the 40 years of the Saraki’s family in power, the state has no potable water for people to drink, adding that workers had been pauperised because of non-payment of their salaries.

He said the Saraki dynasty in Kwara had rendered the quality of life of the people to the lowest point.

On the contrary, the minister said that the APC in its campaign had been proudly showcasing what the Federal Government had achieved since assuming office in 2015.

‘‘Ask them who tarred the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road that they (PDP) took to Bode Saadu, where they launched their campaign a few days ago.

‘‘That road was impassable during the time of the PDP, the same party they are now touting as the one with the magic wand,’’ he said.

Mohammed said that contrary to the lies of the opposition, PDP, President Muhammadu Buhari was not the reason the states had not performed.

He said: ‘‘Ask them what they did with the several bailouts they received from the Federal Government.

‘‘Ask them why they could not pay workers’ salaries despite getting bailouts and Paris Club refund; they claim they are helping the state to offset workers salaries.

‘‘Remind them that they are only returning some of the commonwealth they have looted. They are only doing so out of panic.’’

The minister also said that the claim by the opposition that the APC would take Kwara to Southwest zone was incorrect.

Earlier, the Kwara APC Women Leader, Hajiya Rahmat Okin-Abolaji, underscored the importance of mobilising women ahead of the polls considering their statistics in the nation’s population.

She alleged that women had been marginalised in Kwara politics and expressed the confidence that the APC would change the situation after winning the election.

The women leader also tasked the women to come out in their numbers to vote for the APC in order to liberate the state from decades of poor governance.