The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has vowed that the party will reclaim Kwara State from the grip of Senate President Bukola Saraki at the forthcoming general election.
Oshiomhole said this in Abuja during a meeting with APC stakeholders from Kwara State led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. He directed leaders of the party to ensure the conclusion of the election of executives from the ward to the state levels this weekend.
Oshiomhole said his earlier position that Saraki planned to destroy APC because of his inordinate ambition was vindicated by the Senate president’s recent declaration of his presidential ambition on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But Saraki, who recently defected from APC to PDP, issued a quick response through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Mr Yusuf Olaniyonu, mocking the claims of the APC national chairman. Olaniyonu said that Kwara people were too sophisticated to be dictated to by outsiders.
Oshiomhole’s assertions were contained in a statement yesterday by his chief press secretary, Mr Simon Ebegbulem. The statement quoted the APC national chairman as saying that reclaiming Kwara from Saraki’s domination “is a task that must be accomplished.”
Addressing the Kwara delegation, Oshiomhole said, “When I was saying that all these defections is not about APC but the personal ambition of these people, they took hired writers to say I was being too hard. But Saraki’s declaration has vindicated me. Thank God, he has moved on because his inordinate ambition was almost destroying our party, but he has failed.
“These are not principled politicians but bread and butter politicians who can go extra miles to pursue their selfish ambition and never think about the well-being of Nigerians.”
He advised APC members in Kwara State to close ranks and work towards ending the reign of Saraki in Kwara politics as the country head towards 2019.
In a swift reaction, however, the Senate president described Oshiomhole’s statement as mere wishful thinking. Saraki’s senior special adviser on media stated regarding Oshiomhole’s claims, “He can continue to day-dream about Kwara. We assure him that he will have so many states to struggle to keep in 2019, including Edo State, that Kwara will be the least of his concerns. This man who talks more than he thinks will soon find out that Kwara people are too sophisticated to be dictated to by outsiders.”
Speaking on efforts to reposition the Kwara State chapter of APC, Oshiomhole said he had formed a committee made up of two deputy national chairmen to work with the National Organising Secretary and the Vice Chairman (North-central) to put in place new party executives in the state.
The statement quoted him as saying, “The last time I spoke with the minister he told me we have accomplished 80 or 85 per cent, that for me is not good enough because we don’t have more time. So this week, we must achieve hundred per cent by whatever means. If you can’t do it, we have to help you get it done.
“I am very impressed with the enthusiasm of the people of Kwara State. They are experiencing a new dawn, a new sense of freedom and a sense of ownership of the APC where we are trying to do bottom up rather than top down.
“Where we have politics of inclusion, no godfather, everybody matters. Now I superintended over the liquidation of godfathers in Edo state, now I will not be here and allow and support the emergence of a new godfather.
“When we vanquished the godfathers we created a level playing field for equal opportunity to participate and that is what I think we have achieved so far and we need to take full advantage of that to do what needs to be done for us to get on with the job of organising, mobilising. I believe all of us, the APC leadership, we are anxious to come to Kwara State to interface with the great people of Kwara State, beyond llorin, to other major cities in Kwara.
“Let them know and carry the message of change and use the broom to sweep away the past, including the thorn umbrella. The task of sweeping away the past and rebuilding a new Kwara is a task that must be done. That should give you the energy, the incentive and the appropriate spirit to work together so that victory will be ours, not for our own good but for the good of the great people of Kwara State who have been oppressed for such a long, long time. Like they say, there can be many days for the thief, one day for the owner.”
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