Forget politics now, lets focus on governance says Hon. Mashood Mustapha


The former governorship aspirant in the last general elections in Kwara State under All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. Mashood Mustapha has rubbish the purported story by one invisible group with the name “Defender of Kwara Freedom”  linking him to Alanamu ward Crisis as baseless allegations from imaginary view of those behind it said what his priority at moment is governance and how APC led by Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq will deliver the real dividends of democracy to the good people of Kwara that voted for the party overwhelmingly.

This was contained in a statement released by MM support group and signed by their secretary Alhaji Rasaq Adio and made available to journalists in Ilorin yesterday, Sunday.

The statement reads “Our attention has been drawn to a sponsored content aim at the defaming the reputation of Hon. Mashood Mustapha, a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress from Alanamu Ward in Ilorin West local government of Kwara State”

“It is crystal clear that the allegations of one unknown group linking Hon Mashood Mustapha with imaginary plot to polarise Kwara APC is unfounded, baseless, ridiculous and an act of desperation by some elements desperate for appointments and recognition of His Excellency Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq and thought that doing so would pave way for them”

“For records, the current Alanamu Ward executive under the leadership of  Alhaji Muyideen Ikolaba  was duly constituted in line with party guidelines, thereby recognized by local and state levels”

“Therefore, the division in Alanamu Ward or Kwara APC as a narrative of polarization only exist in the mind of the unknown group and their numerous sponsors seeking for relevance at all cost by creating unnecessary crisis to attract attention as well as create bad press for highly respected Hon Mashood Mustapha”

“Without mincing words, Hon Mashood Mustapha has a strong political root in Alanamu Ward and a major financier of APC at ward level and beyond. The fact remains that the former federal lawmaker enjoys goodwill and large followership in Alanamu Ward and mentor to some executive members in current Kwara APC at the state, local government and ward levels”

“Recall that the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on several occasions commended Hon Mashood Mustapha for his loyalty, unrelenting support, maturity and mobilization driven while building Kwara APC structure in build up to 2019 general elections. His political maturity also ensured smooth and mutual resolution of post governorship primary election issues in Kwara State”

“The unintelligent rhetorics about polarization of Kwara APC can be described as proxy war geared towards forcing their preferred protégés on the people in Alanamu Ward against their wish”

“To this end, Hon Mashood Mustapha restates his unflinching loyalty to All Progressives Congress and its leadership from ward to national level. Adding that he will continue to promote unity, peace and coercion within the party as well as work with other stakeholders to fortify Kwara APC structure”

“Hon. Mashood Mustapha therefore implores every stakeholder in Alanamu Ward to avoid sowing seed of discord by following due process to address their grievances, if any. Saying 'I won't destroy the house I worked tirelessly to build”

“MM's priority at the moment is how to ensure his excellency Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq delivers real dividends of democracy to the good people of kwara that voted for him and all party flag bearers massively in the last general elections. He has consistently  urged every stakeholder and kwaran to support the governor in all ramifications to ensure he succeeds” the statement read.



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KWARA LIBERATION IS TIED TO BUHARI RE-ELECTION -YOUTH LEADER

The President of the Kwara Youth Stakeholder Forum and newly appointed Secretary of the National Youth Campaign Committee for APC Presidential Campaign Council Mr. Charles Olufemi Folayan has challenge youths from the state to forget political differences and deliver bloc of votes to president Muhammed Buhari in February 16 presidential election because that is where political liberation and prosperities lie.

Charles said this during the week at the inauguration of Youth campaign committee for re election of President Buhari in Ilorin, the State Capital
“the time has come for Kwara Youth to end the gang of looters who maneuvered their ways to the politics and governance of Kwara and Nigeria and have continued to usurp the people to acquire properties abroad and expensive areas in Nigeria with public funds at the detriment of overall development of our beloved country and state”

He added“the O TO GE whirlwind in Kwara State transcends the aspiration of any individual or party, it Is a battle to free Kwara from Maladministration, egocentric/selfish leadership, psychology manipulation and political/eeconomic slavery fabricated by Saraki and his cohorts.

“I’m confident that the Federal Government has put in place every necessary arrangement to ensuring that Kwara election results reflect the true will of the Kwara people who have been agitating over the years to end the Saraki political slavery.

He said his committee will work day and night with every progressive minds in Kwara State to achieve their goals.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE: KWARA YOUTH DEMAND SPECIAL SECURITY FORCES FOR THE STATE AHEAD ELECTIONS.

The Kwara Youth Stakeholders Forum has called on the presidency and Inspector General of Police to as a matter of urgency deploy special police force to Kwara State in order to fish out the perpetrators of Political Violence that resulted into death of not less than 2 people suspected to be supporters of APC with several people sustained different kind of injuries with almost 50 cars destroyed in the state just within one week.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the president of the youth group Mr. Charles Olufemi Folayan and made Available to the journalists in Ilorin “the recent attack on APC supporters in Ilorin is one of the failures of Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed administration in protecting lives and properties of the people of Kwara State and desperate move by expired politicians to retain power by all means”

He said, “we call on the Federal Government and the Inspector General of police to give special attention to Kwara considering that some politicians in the State are known for arming youths for political purposes which has not only attracted political violence but also robbery and killings of innocent lives”

“We are yet to forget and recover from the Offa and Omu-Aran robbery incidents and we can not afford to have more casualties, hence the need for a special task force for Kwara State”

“We also challenge the newly appointed acting Inspector General Of Police Mr. Adamu Mohammed to as a matter of importance switch into action and give special attention to kwara in order to curb political thuggery, armed robbery and other unwanted social vices that recently dominated news from the state”

“We wish to use this medium to appeal to the Youths of Kwara State to desist from been used as political thugs by some selfish politicians who kept their children abroad” he added.

WHY PATRIOTIC KWARANS REFUSED TO SUPPORT THE MOST USELESS GOVERNMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE, UNDER CONTROL OF BUKOLA SARAKI.

I don't know of some people but majority of us here don't just hate the government and Kwara state political leadership base on personal sentiment but Many of the so-called "hate crimes" are actually spawned by government actions against the people.

I don't know of any rational group of people in the world that are not under political slavery that will continue supporting the government that is inflicting them with pain and agony. No doubt, most of the supporters and sympathizers of this government are not sincere, it all boil down to their selfish interest but not out of patriotism.

How do you expect us to support a government that failed to fix our roads despite billions of Naira expended on Asphalt plant and Operation "No port holes".

Kwara state government under the leadership of Governor Fatai Ahmed has spent more than needed on road project yet no single motorable road in the state. You want us to support the government that is making live miserable for the people. The abandoned roads are everywhere without hope of getting them completed before this administration expired.

I don't know how you want us to support the government that refused to pay workers salaries. Kwara state civil servants are the worse paid civil servants in the world, yet, some are not getting their salaries as at when due. The government is shifting blame to the local government that have being reduced to backruptcy.

I can never support a government that failed to provide basic amenities to make life more easier for the people. Kindly take your time to travel round the state. don't limit your search to GRA because that's the only place that always receives government attention. Go round Ilorin metropolis, you will hardly see any sign of government presence.

Go to places like Adabata, Oke-fomo, Gaa-Akanbi, Okelele, Opomalu, Sobi and Ita-Amo etc, you will hardly see any basic amenities provided by the government in those areas.

Almost all roads that links to Kwara North are bad and also 90% of roads in the south. Not just roads but no electricity and water supply. Water project has become government to government project of looting and siphoning public funds.Please tell me why I have to support this government?.

I can't love a government that pay no attention to qualitative education. The educational sector in Kwara state is in shambles. I don't want to dig more into this for I believe the failure is more than obvious.

I don't know why I have to support a government that failed to provide security for the people. Cultists, fraudsters, kidnappers, ritualist are taking over, despite all the money this administration claimed to have spent on security, we can't still sleep with our two eyes closed. What a fail government.

You want me to support a government that is promoting crime and encouraging criminals. Just of recent, I learnt the state government bought expensive vehicles for their good boys (punks) just to prepare them ahead of the general election.

Another biggest cause of anger is the government using fear to control people. Using scare tactics and false scapegoats to frighten people to give up their right and agitation for better Kwara . As it is, people are ready to kick out the failed government no matter what it takes.

Self centered legislators is another reason why I hate this government.They hold elaborate public hearings. After the hearings, instead of listening to what the people had to say, they stick with their original plans as instructed by the leader. Though, we can't condemn them in totality but there are lot of flaws.

I can't love this government because the salaries of government employees, especially legislators, executives, and political appointess, are outrageously high. Meanwhile people who do more work than they do get #18000 minimum wage.

Another reason why I hate this government is because the ruling class always exploit unfair election methods. Method where voters are not allowed to say "Yes" to their preferred candidates, and not allowed to also say "No" to the candidates they don't trust.

The reasons are too numerous to mention. Most of us are not happy for the failure of the government and we are ready to support the government any day any time things change to normal. The day and time the government start taking responsibility, the day the government start fixing the bad roads and improve the standard of our educational system and provide adequate and unbiased security, we shall all join our hands together to support the government and the political leadership.

May God help us the truth to know.

KWARA APC GUBER RUNNING MATE: TIME FOR ABDULRASAK TO SHOW LEADERSHIP

There has been several permutations by the various stakeholders of the APC in Kwara State over who become running mate to Abdulrasak Abdulraman, several interest groups are nominating different people for the slot and they are seriously lobbying various party stakeholders in the State and at the National level.

However, there are important factors to be considered in picking a running mate but above all is a consideration of a person who can add value to Abdulrasak candidacy, appeal to the public and boost the strength to win the general election.

Most at times, politicians who constitute less than 30% of the electorate places their interest above the interest of the masses who have more strength in term of votes and the overall success of the project, this is also the situation today in Kwara.

There is undue pressure on Abdulraman Abdulrasak  from various quarters, it is rumoured that more than 10 groups have come up with names of their preferred candidates and some of them even become insensitive that they are pushing for Muslim-Muslim ticket which will spell doom for the party in the State.

Meanwhile, here comes the time for the guber candidate to assume leadership and be decisive, he must prove to us that he knows what is good for the masses and can really lead us, he must realise that he will face the highest of the heat of any problem that might be created for him by selfish politicians, he must show us that he is not a stooge and that he would be different to what we are currently experiencing in the State, hence, he should name his running mate now.

Its glaring that some parts of Kwara State have been marginalize in all the arrangement of the APC, it's only normal for the people of the area to be considered, however the time for Abdulrasak to act is now to pick someone that will not only represent the unrepresented Christian Youth yearning  but will also add value to both his campaign and also governance.

Kwarans are more interested in people who knows their problems and have shown commitment in solving those problems over the years. We hope that Abdulrasak and the APC would be sensitive enough to make community development a priority.

We hereby call on Alh. Abdulrasak Abdulraman to name his deputy against all odds and bring together all groups to work for the overall victory of the party in the State.

By: Concerned Kwarans Group.

Kwara Guber 2019: APC stakeholders seek disciplinary action against Prof Shuaib Abdulraheem


Concerned Stakeholders Of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara have called on the party at the state and National to sanction a governorship aspirant, Prof. Shuaib Abdulraheem for violating the accord with President Muhammadu Buhari and National Chairman of the party comrade Adam Oshiomole .

The stakeholders made the call on Tuesday in Ilorin while addressing a press conference.
Sen. Mohammed Ahmed, who addressed the media on behalf of the group said that Abdulraheem's engagement with the press after the presidential endorsement of Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq as the party's gubernatorial candidate for the state amounted to anti-party activities.

According to him, party members felt relieved by the reach out of Abdulrasaq to each of the aspirants as well as the efforts of the party leadership to get the party in unison. "Sadly, an ugly event occurred on Sunday Oct. 28 when aspirant who was at the presidential endorsement of Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq Prof. Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem arrived at Ilorin International airport.

"His engagement with the press was not in the spirit of the Abuja accord with Minister of Information and Culture. Neither did it represent the resolutions of aspirants with National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole”

"It further embarrassed the decent meeting of Kwara APC and the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is on record that supporters of Prof. Shuaib Abdulraheem destroyed the billboards of Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq. We view these actions as disrespectful both the party and the president. We call on the state party chairman of APC to take disciplinary action against such outward behaviour which could be interpreted as supportive of opposition",

The group noted that since the appeal panel had dismissed the complaints of the aggrieved parties, there was the need for party members to commit to a purposeful and united APC.

KWARA: APC YOUTH CAUCUS DEMANDS FOR DEPUTY GOV. SLOT


The Youth caucus of All Progressives Congress (APC) Kwara State chapter under the aegis Of “coalition of Kwara Youth Leaders” has demanded for the slot of deputy governor who they expected to be someone below 50 years of age to serve as running mate to the governorship candidate of the party Alhaji Abdulrasaq Abdulraman who is already over 50 years of age.

In a press statement released by the group, they said the party should be sensitive to the yearning of young people for inclusion in politics and governance and also considering the candidate of their opponent who is a younger person.

They said the only way to compliment Abdulrasak candidacy is to have a young and vibrant Christian running mate from the southern part of Kwara.

“We are aware of various pamutation ongoing by older politicians in the State to be a running mate to Abdulrasak, saying that the interest of the young people is sacrosanct and must not be taking for granted because they constituted a large percentage of the voters and crusaders of liberation in the State”

The coalition group however said a candidate above 50 years of age will not be acceptable by them because it simply mean youth are not value in the party. And they will rather go to the party that take their interest serious.

KWARA SOUTH ENDORSED OMOTOSHO AS ABDULRASAK’S RUNING MATE

The good people of Kwara South Senatorial district has endorsed Dr. Mike Omotosho ‘Omo To Sure’ to be the runing mate of Alhaji AbduRhaman AbdulRasak who is a governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC). The endorsement which officially came from Igbomina Ekiti Parapo Forum has suggested Dr. Mike as the perfect running mate for Abdulrasak Abdulraman.

In a statement released to the public on Tuesday 9th of October, 2018. The group said the choice of Omotosho is to compliment Abdulrasak's leadership and governance

They said Omotosho is a young technocrat turned politician who currently enjoys the love and support of the people of Kwara State and particularly the youth

Omotosho recently declared his support for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 and has been seen participating directly or indirectly in most activities of APC in Kwara State

OMOTOSHO is a man of many faces. He is a thoroughly schooled Pharmacist, a politician of no mean repute, an astute businessman and to cap it all, a man of the people. Like many in the world today, he was never born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The frugal talking Mike Omotosho, however, determined to have formal education. He graduated from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria in the year 1991. To him, the difference between success and failure is commitment.He went on to acquire post graduate Diploma in Management from The University of Lagos, and a PGD in Veterinary Pharmacy from Harper Adams University College, Shorpshire, UK in 2005. Dr. Mike has a Masters certificate in Supply Chain Management from University of San Francisco, Certificate in Medicine Information from University of Cape Town, South Africa, and an MBA from Business School Netherlands. He bagged his Ph.D in Professional Ethics from Trinity College Seychelles in Year 2013. He is a product of Harvard Business School, Boston, USA in the High Potential Leadership Programme.This thus bears eloquent testimony to his academic brilliance. Mike Omotosho had a stint with Pfizer, Lagos as an Intern Pharmacist between 1991 and 1992. He worked as a Consultant Pharmacist in Mobil Oil, Lagos from 1993 to 1996, and Registration Pharmacist in Reckitt & Coleman, Lagos between 1996 and 1998. Mike was a Managing Partner at Psy-khe from 1998 to 2007, before moving to CHAN Medi-Pharm as Head of Programmes & Advocacy The simple but detailed man who has today, become an issue in Kwara politics, founded Sustainable Health Initiative (SHI Logistics) in 2010 to strengthen mechanism for the promotion of sustainable healthcare delivery in Nigeria. He is also the Chief Oversight Officer of SHI Foundation with Global Fund, USAID, and Society for Family Health etc as partners He is a member of several professional bodies and associations including Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, Project Management Institute (Lagos & San Francisco Chapters), Nigerian Institute of Management, Nigerian Institute of Public Management, Association of Operations Management, American Association of Healthcare Executives, Harvard University Healthcare Club, Cranfield University Procurement Leaders Fellowship, Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toastmasters International, and Rotary International. The SHI Foundation has helped to improve healthcare delivery in Nigeria and significantly contributed to reducing the prevalence of malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other diseases around the country, with over 2,500,000 people so far benefitting from the Foundation’s programmes since its establishment. He also set up Mike Omotosho Foundation to alleviate poverty and empower the youths through training and community development programmes.

Omotosure was on the lips of everybody during the primaries so this will be a killer-combo. A tag team that will surely give APC the needed victory in the 2019 general elections

KWARA's POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: BETWEEN SARAKI AND LAI MOHAMMED; WHO IS THE REAL ALIEN AND USER OF FOREIGN AGENTS? By Suleiman Atanda Dan-Magaji.

I have prepared my mind to see a lot of intrigue in the run up to the next general election in Kwara state especially because of the leadership vacuum which now exists in the APC due to the much talked about defection of the senate president, one thing I did not actually envisage is the unfortunate desperation of the Minister of Information; Alhaji Lai Mohammed to step into a shoe too big for a semi-Kwaran like him.

The attempt by Alhaji Lai Mohammed to paint the Senate president as a leader who believes more in non-Kwaran allies smacks of nothing but sheer selfishness and plot to use Kwara as a trade point from the ruling APC and its financiers. How else can one then describe the sudden lousiness and posture of man who was a short one in the affairs of Kwara APC when Saraki was in the party? In fact, to many Kwarans; Lai Mohammed's appointment as a minister using the slot of Kwara was more of a minus for the state in the current Federal Executive Council.

Now to the main crush, Lai Mohammed's complaint about the inclusion of some certain technocrats such as Tope Daramola, Segun Soewu, Mr Summer, Dr Somide and Alh Yusuf Olaniyonu in the running of some sectors of Kwara and as aides to the SP would have generated ill feelings beyond the technocratic rationale had such complaint not have emanated from a man who is more of a Lagosian than a Kwaran. Does one really have to remind him of his previous occupation of the position of Chief of Staff in a state which is not of his origin? Or much more of the current seat being occupied by his son in the Lagos state House of Assembly.

Before the minister can complain about Saraki's engagement of non-Kwarans, he should be honest and bold enough to tell us why he could not get his Presidential Special Assistant from anywhere in Kwara state especially in Oro or his Irepodun LGA before he decided to run to Ogbomosho in Oyo state to shop for one Williams Adeleye who is today his Presidential Assistant who has used the slot of Kwara to garner enormous influence within the ministry of Information and Aso Rock Villa for the benefit of Oyo state and their lagos cronies. Therefore, like Yusuf Olaniyonu from Ogun state working for Saraki, like Williams Adeleye from Oyo state working for Lai Mohammed. We would therefore, like to belief Lai's impression of Saraki only if he can convince us that there are no hundreds of qualified Kwarans who can do for him what his foreigner Williams Adeleye is doing for him in his ministerial assignment.

It is hightime one warns this Lagos politician not to allow his selfish desperation to take over as the leader of APC in Kwara from Saraki to expose his political failure beyond the borders of Kwara. Who could be more alien between Saraki who has always won elections In Kwara since 2003 and Lai Mohammed who has never for once delivered his Oro ward2 to any of his political parties in all elections? Facts are sacred; since his foray into Kwara's political landscape in 2003, Lai Mohammed political party/camp has always lost every election in his Irepodun LGA of the state and this is a direct indictment of the mouthy minister as a foreigner as far as Kwara politics is concern, if not, what manner of a political leader would not be able to boast of winning his ward not to talk of his LGA and yet such a politician is claiming an imaginary ability of replacing a well grounded political leader? It may do him well to quickly realize that political leadership is far a herculean task than the job of a government or political party's mouth piece.

I can not but pity my fellow Ilorites such as Prof Oba Abdulraheem, Rahman Rasak, Moshood Mustapha, Late Justice Akanbi's heir and others who are gullibly adopting the minister as their leader, how I wish they know what their acclaimed leader is using them to trade for. I have it on good authority that the selfish quest of Lai Mohammed to turn Kwara to his ATM is the reason why he is desperately using the zoning formular to look for a puppet to support as the governor at a time when Saraki himself is strategising to ensure he features a homegrown and generally acceptable candidate having realized that Kwarans may no longer accept a tailor made puppet for governor in the coming dispensation.

The real reason why Lai Mohammed wants Alh.Yaman Abdullahi as the gubernatorial candidate of his party is therefore not far fetched, it is because he has collected very huge amount of money from the Shonga born but Kaduna based politician, going by this fact, who is more selfish between Saraki who would spend his money to ensure victory for his candidate and Lai Mohammed who is collecting money from an aspirant to facilitate party ticket for same? This is a question all Kwarans must sincerely answer before we move our hands from fire to frying pan.

Meanwhile, Yaman Abdullahi is not alone in playing the victim to the trading political leader, our own Ilorin born Rahman Rasak has also fallen into the extortive antic of the minister as he has started Paying him in hard currencies just to facilitate the deputy gubernatorial candidacy of the APC for his long time ally; Prince Sunday Fagbemi, those who have Lai's ear would do him a great favour by letting him realize that a lot of Kwarans now have clear understanding of how he is using the vacuum created by Saraki's exit from the APC to make illicit wealth from many aspirants in the APC. What kind of a leader does this? Perhaps his Party members can attempt to answer this.

This latest extortion of money from contestants by Alhaji Lai Mohammed has once again opened up an old wound of pre and post 2011 elections that one thought would have been healed by time, but it is obvious that this extortionist attitude is genetically embedded in the make up of the minister because if we could attribute his decision to collect money from most of the ACN contestants in 2011 and his consistent extortion of money from the two ACN members of the state House of Assembly between 2011 and 2013 before the decampment of the duo to the then PDP to the fact that Alhaji Lai was out of job in that era, what should we now hold responsible for his current attitude of milking Yaman Abdullahi and others now that he is a Minister of the Federal Republic? Definitely, he has this money milking personality bequeathed to him by nature and I am double sure Kwarans are not ready for a leader who would eventually sell the state to the highest bidder.

At this juncture, it is therefore imperative for Kwarans especially those who are still sympathetic to the APC to look beyond the lieying lens of Minister Lai anytime he attempt to decimate the political leadership of Senator Saraki because a man who is scheming to lord Williams Adeleye, his Ogbomosho born aide on Yaman Abdullahi as Chief of Staff should the latter becomes governor does not in anyway possess the moral purity to castigate Saraki for engaging the likes of Segun Soewu and Yusuf Olaniyonu. It is rather a laughable case of the kettle calling the pot black.

KWARA's POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: BETWEEN SARAKI AND LAI MOHAMMED; WHO IS THE REAL ALIEN AND USER OF FOREIGN AGENTS? By Suleiman Atanda Dan-Magaji.

I have prepared my mind to see a lot of intrigue in the run up to the next general election in Kwara state especially because of the leadership vacuum which now exists in the APC due to the much talked about defection of the senate president, one thing I did not actually envisage is the unfortunate desperation of the Minister of Information; Alhaji Lai Mohammed to step into a shoe too big for a semi-Kwaran like him.

The attempt by Alhaji Lai Mohammed to paint the Senate president as a leader who believes more in non-Kwaran allies smacks of nothing but sheer selfishness and plot to use Kwara as a trade point from the ruling APC and its financiers. How else can one then describe the sudden lousiness and posture of man who was a short one in the affairs of Kwara APC when Saraki was in the party? In fact, to many Kwarans; Lai Mohammed's appointment as a minister using the slot of Kwara was more of a minus for the state in the current Federal Executive Council.

Now to the main crush, Lai Mohammed's complaint about the inclusion of some certain technocrats such as Tope Daramola, Segun Soewu, Mr Summer, Dr Somide and Alh Yusuf Olaniyonu in the running of some sectors of Kwara and as aides to the SP would have generated ill feelings beyond the technocratic rationale had such complaint not have emanated from a man who is more of a Lagosian than a Kwaran. Does one really have to remind him of his previous occupation of the position of Chief of Staff in a state which is not of his origin? Or much more of the current seat being occupied by his son in the Lagos state House of Assembly.

Before the minister can complain about Saraki's engagement of non-Kwarans, he should be honest and bold enough to tell us why he could not get his Presidential Special Assistant from anywhere in Kwara state especially in Oro or his Irepodun LGA before he decided to run to Ogbomosho in Oyo state to shop for one Williams Adeleye who is today his Presidential Assistant who has used the slot of Kwara to garner enormous influence within the ministry of Information and Aso Rock Villa for the benefit of Oyo state and their lagos cronies. Therefore, like Yusuf Olaniyonu from Ogun state working for Saraki, like Williams Adeleye from Oyo state working for Lai Mohammed. We would therefore, like to belief Lai's impression of Saraki only if he can convince us that there are no hundreds of qualified Kwarans who can do for him what his foreigner Williams Adeleye is doing for him in his ministerial assignment.

It is hightime one warns this Lagos politician not to allow his selfish desperation to take over as the leader of APC in Kwara from Saraki to expose his political failure beyond the borders of Kwara. Who could be more alien between Saraki who has always won elections In Kwara since 2003 and Lai Mohammed who has never for once delivered his Oro ward2 to any of his political parties in all elections? Facts are sacred; since his foray into Kwara's political landscape in 2003, Lai Mohammed political party/camp has always lost every election in his Irepodun LGA of the state and this is a direct indictment of the mouthy minister as a foreigner as far as Kwara politics is concern, if not, what manner of a political leader would not be able to boast of winning his ward not to talk of his LGA and yet such a politician is claiming an imaginary ability of replacing a well grounded political leader? It may do him well to quickly realize that political leadership is far a herculean task than the job of a government or political party's mouth piece.

I can not but pity my fellow Ilorites such as Prof Oba Abdulraheem, Rahman Rasak, Moshood Mustapha, Late Justice Akanbi's heir and others who are gullibly adopting the minister as their leader, how I wish they know what their acclaimed leader is using them to trade for. I have it on good authority that the selfish quest of Lai Mohammed to turn Kwara to his ATM is the reason why he is desperately using the zoning formular to look for a puppet to support as the governor at a time when Saraki himself is strategising to ensure he features a homegrown and generally acceptable candidate having realized that Kwarans may no longer accept a tailor made puppet for governor in the coming dispensation.

The real reason why Lai Mohammed wants Alh.Yaman Abdullahi as the gubernatorial candidate of his party is therefore not far fetched, it is because he has collected very huge amount of money from the Shonga born but Kaduna based politician, going by this fact, who is more selfish between Saraki who would spend his money to ensure victory for his candidate and Lai Mohammed who is collecting money from an aspirant to facilitate party ticket for same? This is a question all Kwarans must sincerely answer before we move our hands from fire to frying pan.

Meanwhile, Yaman Abdullahi is not alone in playing the victim to the trading political leader, our own Ilorin born Rahman Rasak has also fallen into the extortive antic of the minister as he has started Paying him in hard currencies just to facilitate the deputy gubernatorial candidacy of the APC for his long time ally; Prince Sunday Fagbemi, those who have Lai's ear would do him a great favour by letting him realize that a lot of Kwarans now have clear understanding of how he is using the vacuum created by Saraki's exit from the APC to make illicit wealth from many aspirants in the APC. What kind of a leader does this? Perhaps his Party members can attempt to answer this.

This latest extortion of money from contestants by Alhaji Lai Mohammed has once again opened up an old wound of pre and post 2011 elections that one thought would have been healed by time, but it is obvious that this extortionist attitude is genetically embedded in the make up of the minister because if we could attribute his decision to collect money from most of the ACN contestants in 2011 and his consistent extortion of money from the two ACN members of the state House of Assembly between 2011 and 2013 before the decampment of the duo to the then PDP to the fact that Alhaji Lai was out of job in that era, what should we now hold responsible for his current attitude of milking Yaman Abdullahi and others now that he is a Minister of the Federal Republic? Definitely, he has this money milking personality bequeathed to him by nature and I am double sure Kwarans are not ready for a leader who would eventually sell the state to the highest bidder.

At this juncture, it is therefore imperative for Kwarans especially those who are still sympathetic to the APC to look beyond the lieying lens of Minister Lai anytime he attempt to decimate the political leadership of Senator Saraki because a man who is scheming to lord Williams Adeleye, his Ogbomosho born aide on Yaman Abdullahi as Chief of Staff should the latter becomes governor does not in anyway possess the moral purity to castigate Saraki for engaging the likes of Segun Soewu and Yusuf Olaniyonu. It is rather a laughable case of the kettle calling the pot black.

KWARA's POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: BETWEEN SARAKI AND LAI MOHAMMED; WHO IS THE REAL ALIEN AND USER OF FOREIGN AGENTS? By Suleiman Atanda Dan-Magaji.

I have prepared my mind to see a lot of intrigue in the run up to the next general election in Kwara state especially because of the leadership vacuum which now exists in the APC due to the much talked about defection of the senate president, one thing I did not actually envisage is the unfortunate desperation of the Minister of Information; Alhaji Lai Mohammed to step into a shoe too big for a semi-Kwaran like him.

The attempt by Alhaji Lai Mohammed to paint the Senate president as a leader who believes more in non-Kwaran allies smacks of nothing but sheer selfishness and plot to use Kwara as a trade point from the ruling APC and its financiers. How else can one then describe the sudden lousiness and posture of man who was a short one in the affairs of Kwara APC when Saraki was in the party? In fact, to many Kwarans; Lai Mohammed's appointment as a minister using the slot of Kwara was more of a minus for the state in the current Federal Executive Council.

Now to the main crush, Lai Mohammed's complaint about the inclusion of some certain technocrats such as Tope Daramola, Segun Soewu, Mr Summer, Dr Somide and Alh Yusuf Olaniyonu in the running of some sectors of Kwara and as aides to the SP would have generated ill feelings beyond the technocratic rationale had such complaint not have emanated from a man who is more of a Lagosian than a Kwaran. Does one really have to remind him of his previous occupation of the position of Chief of Staff in a state which is not of his origin? Or much more of the current seat being occupied by his son in the Lagos state House of Assembly.

Before the minister can complain about Saraki's engagement of non-Kwarans, he should be honest and bold enough to tell us why he could not get his Presidential Special Assistant from anywhere in Kwara state especially in Oro or his Irepodun LGA before he decided to run to Ogbomosho in Oyo state to shop for one Williams Adeleye who is today his Presidential Assistant who has used the slot of Kwara to garner enormous influence within the ministry of Information and Aso Rock Villa for the benefit of Oyo state and their lagos cronies. Therefore, like Yusuf Olaniyonu from Ogun state working for Saraki, like Williams Adeleye from Oyo state working for Lai Mohammed. We would therefore, like to belief Lai's impression of Saraki only if he can convince us that there are no hundreds of qualified Kwarans who can do for him what his foreigner Williams Adeleye is doing for him in his ministerial assignment.

It is hightime one warns this Lagos politician not to allow his selfish desperation to take over as the leader of APC in Kwara from Saraki to expose his political failure beyond the borders of Kwara. Who could be more alien between Saraki who has always won elections In Kwara since 2003 and Lai Mohammed who has never for once delivered his Oro ward2 to any of his political parties in all elections? Facts are sacred; since his foray into Kwara's political landscape in 2003, Lai Mohammed political party/camp has always lost every election in his Irepodun LGA of the state and this is a direct indictment of the mouthy minister as a foreigner as far as Kwara politics is concern, if not, what manner of a political leader would not be able to boast of winning his ward not to talk of his LGA and yet such a politician is claiming an imaginary ability of replacing a well grounded political leader? It may do him well to quickly realize that political leadership is far a herculean task than the job of a government or political party's mouth piece.

I can not but pity my fellow Ilorites such as Prof Oba Abdulraheem, Rahman Rasak, Moshood Mustapha, Late Justice Akanbi's heir and others who are gullibly adopting the minister as their leader, how I wish they know what their acclaimed leader is using them to trade for. I have it on good authority that the selfish quest of Lai Mohammed to turn Kwara to his ATM is the reason why he is desperately using the zoning formular to look for a puppet to support as the governor at a time when Saraki himself is strategising to ensure he features a homegrown and generally acceptable candidate having realized that Kwarans may no longer accept a tailor made puppet for governor in the coming dispensation.

The real reason why Lai Mohammed wants Alh.Yaman Abdullahi as the gubernatorial candidate of his party is therefore not far fetched, it is because he has collected very huge amount of money from the Shonga born but Kaduna based politician, going by this fact, who is more selfish between Saraki who would spend his money to ensure victory for his candidate and Lai Mohammed who is collecting money from an aspirant to facilitate party ticket for same? This is a question all Kwarans must sincerely answer before we move our hands from fire to frying pan.

Meanwhile, Yaman Abdullahi is not alone in playing the victim to the trading political leader, our own Ilorin born Rahman Rasak has also fallen into the extortive antic of the minister as he has started Paying him in hard currencies just to facilitate the deputy gubernatorial candidacy of the APC for his long time ally; Prince Sunday Fagbemi, those who have Lai's ear would do him a great favour by letting him realize that a lot of Kwarans now have clear understanding of how he is using the vacuum created by Saraki's exit from the APC to make illicit wealth from many aspirants in the APC. What kind of a leader does this? Perhaps his Party members can attempt to answer this.

This latest extortion of money from contestants by Alhaji Lai Mohammed has once again opened up an old wound of pre and post 2011 elections that one thought would have been healed by time, but it is obvious that this extortionist attitude is genetically embedded in the make up of the minister because if we could attribute his decision to collect money from most of the ACN contestants in 2011 and his consistent extortion of money from the two ACN members of the state House of Assembly between 2011 and 2013 before the decampment of the duo to the then PDP to the fact that Alhaji Lai was out of job in that era, what should we now hold responsible for his current attitude of milking Yaman Abdullahi and others now that he is a Minister of the Federal Republic? Definitely, he has this money milking personality bequeathed to him by nature and I am double sure Kwarans are not ready for a leader who would eventually sell the state to the highest bidder.

At this juncture, it is therefore imperative for Kwarans especially those who are still sympathetic to the APC to look beyond the lieying lens of Minister Lai anytime he attempt to decimate the political leadership of Senator Saraki because a man who is scheming to lord Williams Adeleye, his Ogbomosho born aide on Yaman Abdullahi as Chief of Staff should the latter becomes governor does not in anyway possess the moral purity to castigate Saraki for engaging the likes of Segun Soewu and Yusuf Olaniyonu. It is rather a laughable case of the kettle calling the pot black.

KWARA's POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: BETWEEN SARAKI AND LAI MOHAMMED; WHO IS THE REAL ALIEN AND USER OF FOREIGN AGENTS? By Suleiman Atanda Dan-Magaji.

I have prepared my mind to see a lot of intrigue in the run up to the next general election in Kwara state especially because of the leadership vacuum which now exists in the APC due to the much talked about defection of the senate president, one thing I did not actually envisage is the unfortunate desperation of the Minister of Information; Alhaji Lai Mohammed to step into a shoe too big for a semi-Kwaran like him.

The attempt by Alhaji Lai Mohammed to paint the Senate president as a leader who believes more in non-Kwaran allies smacks of nothing but sheer selfishness and plot to use Kwara as a trade point from the ruling APC and its financiers. How else can one then describe the sudden lousiness and posture of man who was a short one in the affairs of Kwara APC when Saraki was in the party? In fact, to many Kwarans; Lai Mohammed's appointment as a minister using the slot of Kwara was more of a minus for the state in the current Federal Executive Council.

Now to the main crush, Lai Mohammed's complaint about the inclusion of some certain technocrats such as Tope Daramola, Segun Soewu, Mr Summer, Dr Somide and Alh Yusuf Olaniyonu in the running of some sectors of Kwara and as aides to the SP would have generated ill feelings beyond the technocratic rationale had such complaint not have emanated from a man who is more of a Lagosian than a Kwaran. Does one really have to remind him of his previous occupation of the position of Chief of Staff in a state which is not of his origin? Or much more of the current seat being occupied by his son in the Lagos state House of Assembly.

Before the minister can complain about Saraki's engagement of non-Kwarans, he should be honest and bold enough to tell us why he could not get his Presidential Special Assistant from anywhere in Kwara state especially in Oro or his Irepodun LGA before he decided to run to Ogbomosho in Oyo state to shop for one Williams Adeleye who is today his Presidential Assistant who has used the slot of Kwara to garner enormous influence within the ministry of Information and Aso Rock Villa for the benefit of Oyo state and their lagos cronies. Therefore, like Yusuf Olaniyonu from Ogun state working for Saraki, like Williams Adeleye from Oyo state working for Lai Mohammed. We would therefore, like to belief Lai's impression of Saraki only if he can convince us that there are no hundreds of qualified Kwarans who can do for him what his foreigner Williams Adeleye is doing for him in his ministerial assignment.

It is hightime one warns this Lagos politician not to allow his selfish desperation to take over as the leader of APC in Kwara from Saraki to expose his political failure beyond the borders of Kwara. Who could be more alien between Saraki who has always won elections In Kwara since 2003 and Lai Mohammed who has never for once delivered his Oro ward2 to any of his political parties in all elections? Facts are sacred; since his foray into Kwara's political landscape in 2003, Lai Mohammed political party/camp has always lost every election in his Irepodun LGA of the state and this is a direct indictment of the mouthy minister as a foreigner as far as Kwara politics is concern, if not, what manner of a political leader would not be able to boast of winning his ward not to talk of his LGA and yet such a politician is claiming an imaginary ability of replacing a well grounded political leader? It may do him well to quickly realize that political leadership is far a herculean task than the job of a government or political party's mouth piece.

I can not but pity my fellow Ilorites such as Prof Oba Abdulraheem, Rahman Rasak, Moshood Mustapha, Late Justice Akanbi's heir and others who are gullibly adopting the minister as their leader, how I wish they know what their acclaimed leader is using them to trade for. I have it on good authority that the selfish quest of Lai Mohammed to turn Kwara to his ATM is the reason why he is desperately using the zoning formular to look for a puppet to support as the governor at a time when Saraki himself is strategising to ensure he features a homegrown and generally acceptable candidate having realized that Kwarans may no longer accept a tailor made puppet for governor in the coming dispensation.

The real reason why Lai Mohammed wants Alh.Yaman Abdullahi as the gubernatorial candidate of his party is therefore not far fetched, it is because he has collected very huge amount of money from the Shonga born but Kaduna based politician, going by this fact, who is more selfish between Saraki who would spend his money to ensure victory for his candidate and Lai Mohammed who is collecting money from an aspirant to facilitate party ticket for same? This is a question all Kwarans must sincerely answer before we move our hands from fire to frying pan.

Meanwhile, Yaman Abdullahi is not alone in playing the victim to the trading political leader, our own Ilorin born Rahman Rasak has also fallen into the extortive antic of the minister as he has started Paying him in hard currencies just to facilitate the deputy gubernatorial candidacy of the APC for his long time ally; Prince Sunday Fagbemi, those who have Lai's ear would do him a great favour by letting him realize that a lot of Kwarans now have clear understanding of how he is using the vacuum created by Saraki's exit from the APC to make illicit wealth from many aspirants in the APC. What kind of a leader does this? Perhaps his Party members can attempt to answer this.

This latest extortion of money from contestants by Alhaji Lai Mohammed has once again opened up an old wound of pre and post 2011 elections that one thought would have been healed by time, but it is obvious that this extortionist attitude is genetically embedded in the make up of the minister because if we could attribute his decision to collect money from most of the ACN contestants in 2011 and his consistent extortion of money from the two ACN members of the state House of Assembly between 2011 and 2013 before the decampment of the duo to the then PDP to the fact that Alhaji Lai was out of job in that era, what should we now hold responsible for his current attitude of milking Yaman Abdullahi and others now that he is a Minister of the Federal Republic? Definitely, he has this money milking personality bequeathed to him by nature and I am double sure Kwarans are not ready for a leader who would eventually sell the state to the highest bidder.

At this juncture, it is therefore imperative for Kwarans especially those who are still sympathetic to the APC to look beyond the lieying lens of Minister Lai anytime he attempt to decimate the political leadership of Senator Saraki because a man who is scheming to lord Williams Adeleye, his Ogbomosho born aide on Yaman Abdullahi as Chief of Staff should the latter becomes governor does not in anyway possess the moral purity to castigate Saraki for engaging the likes of Segun Soewu and Yusuf Olaniyonu. It is rather a laughable case of the kettle calling the pot black.

KWARA's POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: BETWEEN SARAKI AND LAI MOHAMMED; WHO IS THE REAL ALIEN AND USER OF FOREIGN AGENTS? By Suleiman Atanda Dan-Magaji.

I have prepared my mind to see a lot of intrigue in the run up to the next general election in Kwara state especially because of the leadership vacuum which now exists in the APC due to the much talked about defection of the senate president, one thing I did not actually envisage is the unfortunate desperation of the Minister of Information; Alhaji Lai Mohammed to step into a shoe too big for a semi-Kwaran like him.

The attempt by Alhaji Lai Mohammed to paint the Senate president as a leader who believes more in non-Kwaran allies smacks of nothing but sheer selfishness and plot to use Kwara as a trade point from the ruling APC and its financiers. How else can one then describe the sudden lousiness and posture of man who was a short one in the affairs of Kwara APC when Saraki was in the party? In fact, to many Kwarans; Lai Mohammed's appointment as a minister using the slot of Kwara was more of a minus for the state in the current Federal Executive Council.

Now to the main crush, Lai Mohammed's complaint about the inclusion of some certain technocrats such as Tope Daramola, Segun Soewu, Mr Summer, Dr Somide and Alh Yusuf Olaniyonu in the running of some sectors of Kwara and as aides to the SP would have generated ill feelings beyond the technocratic rationale had such complaint not have emanated from a man who is more of a Lagosian than a Kwaran. Does one really have to remind him of his previous occupation of the position of Chief of Staff in a state which is not of his origin? Or much more of the current seat being occupied by his son in the Lagos state House of Assembly.

Before the minister can complain about Saraki's engagement of non-Kwarans, he should be honest and bold enough to tell us why he could not get his Presidential Special Assistant from anywhere in Kwara state especially in Oro or his Irepodun LGA before he decided to run to Ogbomosho in Oyo state to shop for one Williams Adeleye who is today his Presidential Assistant who has used the slot of Kwara to garner enormous influence within the ministry of Information and Aso Rock Villa for the benefit of Oyo state and their lagos cronies. Therefore, like Yusuf Olaniyonu from Ogun state working for Saraki, like Williams Adeleye from Oyo state working for Lai Mohammed. We would therefore, like to belief Lai's impression of Saraki only if he can convince us that there are no hundreds of qualified Kwarans who can do for him what his foreigner Williams Adeleye is doing for him in his ministerial assignment.

It is hightime one warns this Lagos politician not to allow his selfish desperation to take over as the leader of APC in Kwara from Saraki to expose his political failure beyond the borders of Kwara. Who could be more alien between Saraki who has always won elections In Kwara since 2003 and Lai Mohammed who has never for once delivered his Oro ward2 to any of his political parties in all elections? Facts are sacred; since his foray into Kwara's political landscape in 2003, Lai Mohammed political party/camp has always lost every election in his Irepodun LGA of the state and this is a direct indictment of the mouthy minister as a foreigner as far as Kwara politics is concern, if not, what manner of a political leader would not be able to boast of winning his ward not to talk of his LGA and yet such a politician is claiming an imaginary ability of replacing a well grounded political leader? It may do him well to quickly realize that political leadership is far a herculean task than the job of a government or political party's mouth piece.

I can not but pity my fellow Ilorites such as Prof Oba Abdulraheem, Rahman Rasak, Moshood Mustapha, Late Justice Akanbi's heir and others who are gullibly adopting the minister as their leader, how I wish they know what their acclaimed leader is using them to trade for. I have it on good authority that the selfish quest of Lai Mohammed to turn Kwara to his ATM is the reason why he is desperately using the zoning formular to look for a puppet to support as the governor at a time when Saraki himself is strategising to ensure he features a homegrown and generally acceptable candidate having realized that Kwarans may no longer accept a tailor made puppet for governor in the coming dispensation.

The real reason why Lai Mohammed wants Alh.Yaman Abdullahi as the gubernatorial candidate of his party is therefore not far fetched, it is because he has collected very huge amount of money from the Shonga born but Kaduna based politician, going by this fact, who is more selfish between Saraki who would spend his money to ensure victory for his candidate and Lai Mohammed who is collecting money from an aspirant to facilitate party ticket for same? This is a question all Kwarans must sincerely answer before we move our hands from fire to frying pan.

Meanwhile, Yaman Abdullahi is not alone in playing the victim to the trading political leader, our own Ilorin born Rahman Rasak has also fallen into the extortive antic of the minister as he has started Paying him in hard currencies just to facilitate the deputy gubernatorial candidacy of the APC for his long time ally; Prince Sunday Fagbemi, those who have Lai's ear would do him a great favour by letting him realize that a lot of Kwarans now have clear understanding of how he is using the vacuum created by Saraki's exit from the APC to make illicit wealth from many aspirants in the APC. What kind of a leader does this? Perhaps his Party members can attempt to answer this.

This latest extortion of money from contestants by Alhaji Lai Mohammed has once again opened up an old wound of pre and post 2011 elections that one thought would have been healed by time, but it is obvious that this extortionist attitude is genetically embedded in the make up of the minister because if we could attribute his decision to collect money from most of the ACN contestants in 2011 and his consistent extortion of money from the two ACN members of the state House of Assembly between 2011 and 2013 before the decampment of the duo to the then PDP to the fact that Alhaji Lai was out of job in that era, what should we now hold responsible for his current attitude of milking Yaman Abdullahi and others now that he is a Minister of the Federal Republic? Definitely, he has this money milking personality bequeathed to him by nature and I am double sure Kwarans are not ready for a leader who would eventually sell the state to the highest bidder.

At this juncture, it is therefore imperative for Kwarans especially those who are still sympathetic to the APC to look beyond the lieying lens of Minister Lai anytime he attempt to decimate the political leadership of Senator Saraki because a man who is scheming to lord Williams Adeleye, his Ogbomosho born aide on Yaman Abdullahi as Chief of Staff should the latter becomes governor does not in anyway possess the moral purity to castigate Saraki for engaging the likes of Segun Soewu and Yusuf Olaniyonu. It is rather a laughable case of the kettle calling the pot black.