BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ILORIN – The All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged the people of Kwara State to hold Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed responsible for mis-governing the state in the last 19 and a half years of Nigeria’s democracy.
The party accused both political actors of deliberately crippling local government system in the state as well as impoverishing the people for their obvious pecuniary interests.
Making the accusation in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Sunday, spokesman of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the APC governorship candidate, Rafiu Ajakaiye said; “The truth is that the governor and his boss (Saraki) conditioned our people to poverty and underdevelopment, not Buhari.
Ajakaiye, who was reacting to comments by Governor Ahmed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has brought hardship to the people at the grassroots by crippling local government administration, said; “They crippled the local government system with repeated diversion of local government funds to some questionable joint accounts.
“We recall that protests by some local government chairmen, including Dele Abiodun of Ekiti and Engineer Ajimati of Oyun local governments, against this evil diversion of council funds were met with unlawful gestapo-like dismissal.
“It took the erudition of their lordships of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to reverse this,” Ajakaye said.
He further stated that local councils in the state have been unable to serve the grassroots; execute any project or pay workers’ salaries because of the continued diversion of their funds by the state government.
According to him, “How is Buhari guilty of this? Has Buhari ever withheld funds to any of these councils? If not, on what basis can anyone accuse him of impoverishing the grassroots?
The campaign spokesperson said no amount of falsehood would save the governor and his party from defeat, adding that Nigerians see the president as a man of honour and integrity, who would not discriminate against any state in the running of his government
“The governor’s statement was a dubious, yet failed attempt to deceive the public on the true state of affairs and this is both irresponsible and devilish.
“It exposes the governor and his boss as politicians who exploit people’s lack of access to basic education and information, which they systematically perpetuate, to lie over issues of governance,” he said.
