Buhari urges Gambari to intervene
Saraki bounces back
The EFCC connection
BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
The Peoples Democratic Party, former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, may profit from the power tussle between the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and other top leaders of the All Progressives Congress in the state, investigations by The Point have revealed.
The governor, minister and other major APC stalwarts have been embroiled in a lingering crisis after the 2019 general elections, resulting in the factionalisation of the APC into two camps.
The Point also gathered that the Minister of State (Transportation), Senator Gbemisola Saraki, is also not in good terms with the governor.
A source told The Point that, though President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of the face-off, and had directed his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, to invite and reconcile the governor and Mohammed, he had yet to do that.
The source alleged that Gambari had vested interest in the festering crisis because he is an Ilorin indigene, like the governor, while the minister is of the Igbomina extraction.
The source alleged that the governor had hijacked the party and maginalised the leaders because of his ambition to seek re-election in 2023.
Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni, as well as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor Kayode Fayemi, were all said to have intervened in the simmering crisis, but without success.
Investigations by The Point revealed that the crisis had enhanced a greater acceptability of Saraki, who is a top leader of the PDP in Nigeria.
The recent registration and revalidation exercise conducted by the APC further polarized its members in Kwara State, as accusations and counter-accusations of alleged marginalisation and manipulations are still trailing the exercise.
The Mohammed-led group was said to have written a letter to the national secretariat of the APC to allege marginalisation of the group from the exercise and the party leadership ordered the registration of the group.
The order has not been complied with.
Sources said the recent ward congresses in the state finally confirmed the full blown crisis between the governor and the minister as each of the two groups organised separate ward congresses where separate ward executives emerged for the 193 wards in the state.
As the Kwara APC crisis worsens, Saraki is said to be enjoying a renewed support of the people of the state.
A source noted that the voters in the state still have trust in Saraki and the PDP ahead of 2023 polls in the state.
It was gathered that when Saraki came into Ilorin last July to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir with his people, he was treated to a heroic welcome at the Eid praying ground by the jubilant crowds.
“In the usual tradition for which his family is known, Saraki distributed Sallah rams, cows, foodstuffs and money to his political structure, traditional and spiritual leaders, youth and women groups, and the less-privileged families,” said a source.
The source noted that with the current crisis in APC in the state, the present rise in the political image of Saraki and his massive acceptance by the youths, women and other stakeholders might assist the PDP to re-clinch power in the state come 2023.
“I hope the move against Bukola is not the beginning of political intimidation or harassment of perceived political opponents of the party in power. I do not belong to any political party in Nigeria, as my reaction is born from my commitment to the protection of individual liberty of all Nigerians”
We’re firmly on ground – APC
Tajudeen Aro, APC Publicity Secretary in Kwara State, disputed the rising profile of Saraki, saying the APC remained a force to reckon with, and would continue the trend for years to come.
He told The Point that the assumption that APC was jittery was misplaced.
“How can we be jittery when we have the confidence of the people?” he queried.
He said on the face of it, “hardly could any of the political parties promising the fall of APC have the support of the electorate to build an alternative vehicle ahead of the 2023 election.”
“This is premised on the fact that the APC in Kwara State has built an electoral fortune, which has not only reached the hearts of the common people, but is also gradually cultivating the friendship of the elite,” he added.
Aro noted, “The supposed relevance of the former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, during his Sallah visit to Ilorin is a testimony to a new and free Kwara championed by Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, where everyone is free to ventilate his/her political expression. A deviation from the past, where leaders clamped down on dissenting voices and opposition, using the instrument of power and thugs, known as ‘good boys’, that’s the O’toge philosophy we preach and practice. So, don’t be deluded. The APC is for Kwara people and the people know their own.”
Saraki not a threat – Governor’s associate
An associate of the Kwara governor who does not want his name in print, also dismissed the popularity of Saraki, saying he was not a threat to the APC or AbdulRazaq.
He said, “There was never a time Bukola Saraki’s house was dry. The question is if that translated into victory for him the last time.
“The thing is that the PDP remains under him in Kwara. There is a deliberate effort not to poach his men because if they couldn’t sway enough voters to his side the last time, who says they can do that now? Also, their politics is different from the governor’s and that’s a challenge for them.”
“The governor isn’t dashing out money the way they do, so they can hardly cope with him (Governor). However, I can confirm to you that his (Saraki) core eggheads are in disarray. Many of them want to join APC from the centre,” he claimed.
APC has been destroyed in Kwara – PDP chairman
Kola Shittu, PDP chairman in Kwara State, told The Point that the party was intact in the state and preparing seriously ahead of the 2023 general elections to take back power.
“You should understand that it will be inappropriate for me to be exposing our strategies in the media. If you are familiar with the goings on in kwara State today, you will agree with me that the APC in Kwara has been destroyed by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. Your impression that APC in Kwara is waxing stronger is truly a misplaced one. Please, do your investigations properly,” he said.
Shittu stressed that Saraki had not neglected his home since the last general elections.
According to him, “the common song in Kwara today is ‘Saraki is coming,’ meaning, his party will win the coming general elections.”
The EFCC connection
However, political observers are worried about the recent invitation to Saraki on July 31, 2021, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
They are of the view that the anti-corruption agency might not have been done with the former Senate President.
Elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, reportedly said the invitation of Saraki by the EFCC was politically motivated.
Yakasai who spoke in Kano said the invitation was a trapping of an attempt to discourage the former Senate President from vying for the Presidency in 2023.
“I hope the move against Bukola is not the beginning of political intimidation or harassment of perceived political opponents of the party in power. I do not belong to any political party in Nigeria, as my reaction is born from my commitment to the protection of individual liberty of all Nigerians regardless of their rank, ethnicity, creed or political inclinations,’’ he said.
We have nothing to fear – Saraki
Asked to comment on the recent arrest of the former Senate President, his spokesman, Yusuf Olaniyonu, told The Point, “I do not have anything to say other than what we stated in the press statement.”
Saraki had explained in a statement that he visited the EFCC on his own personal volition to clarify all issues the agency wanted to raise with him.
Saraki, who said he was not arrested as claimed by a section of the media, added that his visit to the commission was sequel to a recent legal proceeding arising from his complaint of abuse of fundamental human rights during the tenure of the previous EFCC chairman.
On July 17, 2020, Saraki had won a case filed by the EFCC at the Federal High Court, Lagos, for the forfeiture of his property in Ilorin.
It was the second major legal battle Saraki won against the anti-corruption commission since he left office on June 6, 2019.
Four political camps within the APC in Kwara State had joined forces during the 2019 general election to design a popular slogan called “O To Ge” (Enough is Enough), and wrestled power from the Saraki dynasty that had been in control of the state for over 40 years.
The four camps were led by Iyiola Oyedepo; the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki; Sunday Fagbemi and Lai Mohammed.
With their collaboration and gang-up against Saraki, the APC won all the state and federal legislative elections.
APC had also crowned its victory with the election of AbdulRazaq as the 12th executive governor of the state.
But instead of managing their success at the polls, the stakeholders have been embroiled in a crisis, which led to the factionalisation of the party into two camps.
The Kwara APC crisis got to a peak shortly before the recent ward congresses with three of the four camps now under one group called ‘APC Loyal’ with separate party state secretariat located at Flower Garden area, GRA, Ilorin.
The faction has Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa as the state chairman of the party after he was allegedly removed from the office by the governor while the second group backed by the governor and called “AA Group,” has its state secretariat located at Commissioner’s Lodge Area, GRA, Ilorin.
This faction is being headed by the former state deputy chairman of the party, Abdullahi Samari.
Also, the recent comment by the governor at a book launch of “O To Ge,” has worsened the crisis.
At the event in Ilorin, the governor, represented by his deputy, Kayode Alabi, traced the genesis of the crisis to his refusal to fund a campaign structure that was formed without his prior knowledge or input as the governorship candidate of the party in 2019.
The governor also said that some cabals within the party who received hundreds of millions of naira as campaign donations, did not deliver a kobo to him.
He had also alleged that party officials were also barred from campaigning with him until the presidential election had been won and the pendulum was clearly swinging in his favour.
“Party officials got the instruction not to attend my campaign. A few of them can testify to this. I went round the whole of Kwara North without the party. However, they stylishly joined the campaign after the presidential election when it was clear that Kwarans had decided in our favour. I am not aware of any decent democracy where a candidate would not be given the privilege of shaping the direction of his own campaign. It is even worse that my campaign was boycotted because I refused to be led by the nose,” he had reportedly explained.
However, Mohammed, who was also the leader of the party when the election was conducted, had responded to the governor’s allegations.
“If you are familiar with the goings on in kwara State today, you will agree with me that the APC in Kwara has been destroyed by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq”
Mohammed, who spoke at the official inauguration of a new state secretariat of the party in the state located at Flower Garden area, GRA, Ilorin, had claimed that he single-handedly, through family and friends, raised all the funds for the prosecution of the elections in the state, including the House of Representatives by-election for Irepodun/Ekiti/Oke-Ero Constituency, which preceded the 2019 general election.
“I never diverted APC 2019 general election campaign funds for my personal use as alleged by Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. I singlehandedly with the support of friends and family raised all the monies for the Oke-Ero/Isin/Ekiti/Irepodun Federal Constituency by-election of November 2018 that brought Hon. Tunji Olawuyi to the House of Representatives.
“I challenge anybody here to say he gave the party one penny apart from what I gave them. I challenge anybody here to say he gave logistics support to the party. I did that by the grace of God. I distributed 500 motorcycles and 20 vehicles. And many of the beneficiaries are here today,” he had reportedly said.
“I want them to explain to Nigerians about what happened to the N70 million that Hon. Olawuyi kept that the governor refused to give us during the by-election. When we raised money to prosecute that November 2018 by-election and gave them but, to our biggest surprise, like two days to the election, we could not reach them through their phones again to release funds we raised,” he added.
When contacted by The Point on the way forward for the APC in Kwara State, Mohammed pleaded to be left alone.
