*Kwara north monarch backs AbdulRazaq for second term
Hammed Shittu in Ilorin.
A former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has lashed out at the leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and some officials of government for allegedly sabotaging the policies of their own administration for selfish reasons.
This is as a first class traditional ruler in Kwara State, Etsu of Tsaragi, Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi Kpoto, has said Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of the state had done so much to be reelected in the March 11 governorship election in the state.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, yesterday, against the backdrop of the recent claim by the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Kwara State, Mr. Femi Aro Folaranmi that, Saraki was allegedly behind the failure of APC policies in the country, Saraki said, “it’s illogical attempt to blame the policies of APC government on a man, who for the past 45 months has been out of government and not holding any public office.”
He said, “APC leaders sabotaged the policies of their government for selfish reasons. If the APC leaders had exerted the energy, time, resources, and strategies they have deployed to fight the change of currency notes on fighting insecurity, improving the economy, thinking about how to create jobs for the masses, and solving issues militating against the seamless supply of fuel, Nigerians would have been enjoying and the country will be a better place.
“For APC leaders, their ingenuity and skill came on display, when they needed to fight and obstruct their party’s policy, which seeks to stop vote-buying and enthrone a regime of free, fair, credible, and peaceful polls. This has been the crux of Dr. Saraki’s statements at all times and it has not changed.
“I have also canvassed that it is not the culture of Nigerians to reward or tolerate failure. Therefore, since the APC administration has failed on all fronts and made life unbearable for the people, voters across the country should use their PVCs to vote against all APC candidates on February 25 and March 11, 2023, when they go to the polls.
“While the best response to such a thoughtless, unintelligent, and incoherent claim would have been to ignore it, we believe it is better to put it on record that only a party like the APC will make such a reckless, baseless and illogical attempt to blame the policies of its government on a man who for the past 45 months has been out of government and not holding any public office.
“The question people should ask the APC revisionists and hagiographers is that in what capacity did Saraki initiate or contribute to the policy of changing currency notes and not putting a proper plan in place to execute the policy?
“Also, I have been shouting about the unprecedented rate of crude oil theft and the inflation of the figures of the litres of petrol consumed locally contribute to the fuel scarcity crisis in the country.
“Nigerians have overrated the APC and the level of intelligence of its officials, particularly, the ones in Kwara State. They could not even argue any point successfully based on logic and fact,” he said.
He therefore, said, “The day of reckoning is here against those who flagrantly abused the trust of the people as well as those who made lofty promises but delivered pain to the people”.
Meanwhile, Kpoto, who is from Kwara North senatorial district of the state stated that, the governor has touched every part of the state in a way never seen in recent past, calling him a silent achiever with several infrastructural projects to his credit.
Kpoto, made the remarks at Tsaragi town, when he received AbdulRazaq and the APC campaign council at his Palace.
“We know what you are doing for us and sincerely appreciate you. Like I usually tell people, what we need to do on our part is to appreciate all your efforts, and the only way to do that is to massively vote for you and all the candidates of APC.
“It is not possible to have 100 per cent votes in every election but I can assure you of a minimum of 70 per cent vote,” the monarch said at his palace amid dozens of his subjects that hosted the governor on a courtesy visit.
AbdulRazaq, however, expressed gratitude to the people of Tsaragi for their support and resolve to accept him as their candidate, promising to consolidate on his feats in their locality and the entire Kwara State when re-elected.
“I am truly overwhelmed by His Royal Highness’ speech. When we did our work here, we didn’t know that it was being noticed and appreciated this much, but we knew that sometime down the line, our efforts would be appreciated. We know the importance of this town.
“That is why we invested in infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Your gesture encourages us to do more. We will totally transform Tsaragi for you,” he said.
