Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki
Former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has expressed irregularities in the conduct of last Saturday’s Local Government elections held in Kwara State.
He equally commended the people of the state for the courage they demonstrated, against all odds, in sending a clear signal of rejection to the ruling All Progressives Congress, under the Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq-led administration.
The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission declared APC candidates as winners of the 16 LG council chairmanship and 193 wards councillors in the state in the election.
Abdulrazaq, on Monday, swore in the newly elected chairpersons and vice chairpersons of the 16 LGs of the state, urging them to “be prudent with power and work with the people” in the interest of all.
However, in a statement signed on Wednesday by his Press Officer on Political Matters, Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, the former governor noted that the people rose above partisan consideration to take a stand against bad governance.
In his reaction, Saraki said, “In a manner that went beyond partisan consideration and gave expression to the protection of community interests, people from Kwara mobilised themselves to the polling units and met the absence of electoral officials and shoddy preparations by the electoral body.
“Yet the people stood firm against the deliberately concocted frustrations. In some areas, the votes were heavily stacked against APC candidates. In other areas, the voters stood against a system in which less than 10 per cent of the ballot papers were supplied to polling units for the huge number of accredited voters with no result sheets supplied, amongst other inadequacies.
“Whatever results the electoral body eventually declared, our people have sent a clear signal to a government that has not made any significant, positive impact on their lives after 64 months in office. It is a shame that the 16 Local Government Areas now have chairmen and councillors who would be in office without legitimacy and people’s mandate.
“Kwarans have demonstrated that democracy is about the people and any government that refused to serve the purpose for which it was elected will be voted out,” among others.
The former Kwara governor noted that the state residents “deserve to be praised for demonstrating how politically savvy, sophisticated, and discerning they are,” saying, “A government that continuously takes the people for granted will get its deserved result at the polls.”
Saraki lauded the efforts of other political parties, and stakeholders, including community development associations, youth groups, and religious bodies, among others.
