Despite strong opposition from Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the erstwhile Chairman of the All Progressive Congress in Kwara State, Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa has been inaugurated as the acting chairman of the newly constituted caretaker committee of the Party in the state.
Bolarinwa was sworn in today (Friday) alongside other acting chairmen from across the thirty-six states of the federation at the Party national secretariat, in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
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Recall that the National Executive Council of the Party had Tuesday approved the immediate dissolution of the party organs at the polling units, wards, local government, states and zonal levels as well as the non National Working Committee component of the National Executive Committee as well as their immediate reconstitution and composition of the dissolved EXCOs to serve in their respective offices in a caretaker committee capacity but excluding the non-NWC members of NEC.
THE INFORMANT247 however gathered that Governor AbdulRazaq attempted to use his influence as a member of the Progressive Governor’s Forum – which the national caretaker chairman and governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni, is also a member – to prevail on him to reportedly swear in Prince Sunday Fagbemi, an All Progressive Congress chieftain loyal to the governor, as the head of the caretaker committee.
The governor reportedly pointed that Bolarinwa was not elected as the executive chairman of the Party but rather a caretaker committee head assigned to oversee the affairs of the party after the defection of former Senate President Bukola Saraki and his followers prior to the 2019 general election.
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Meanwhile, Barr. Iyiola Akogun, a chieftain of the party had, in a press briefing attended by Prof. Oba AbdulRaheem, representatives of the Ministers of Information, Lai Mohammed and likewise Transportation (state), Gbemisola Saraki among other party stalwarts, alleged that the State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had gone to the National Headquarters of the Party to urge the National Caretaker Committee to exempt Bolarinwa from the swearing-in ceremony on the ground that Kwara Executive of 2018 was not a product of a congress.
Akogun, who’s also a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state before the mass defection to the All Progressive Congress in 2019, added that the State Executive Committee of the Party established in 2018 under Bolarinwa chairmanship was duly constituted by members of the Party, including the Governor.
Speaking further, he said, “When the State Executive was challenged by Alhaji Balogun Fulani, the erstwhile Chairman of the Party that later defected to PDP, he failed up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria which decision was given on the 19 of April 2019. That decision has put to rest the illegality claim on the composition.”
He added, “The APC is known for its progressive stands, we are not robot, no attempt to impose unknown quantities on the party in the State will stand, what the Governor have done is unacceptable to majority of the party executives and members, thereby we won’t sit down and watch us return to the Bukola Saraki dictatorship era which Kwara resoundingly said Otoge to.
“The Bolarinwa led exco has been duly recognized and affirmed by the Supreme Court which is the apex Court in land and all we demand is application of the same yardstick as applied in Oyo, Yobe, Sokoto, Oyo etc.
“If the party is strong and remains vibrant, it’ll remain a vehicle for today’s aspirations and that of tomorrow and thus we must protect the sanctity and integrity of the party.”
However, in what appeared to be a swift reaction, another group of All Progressive Congress elders in the state, apparently loyal to the governor, insisted that a caretaker committee cannot succeed a caretaker committee and that the Supreme Court judgement being referred to by Akogun was wrongly interpreted.
The statement was signed by nine party elders – Alhaji Iliasu Ibrahim, Alhaji Farouk Idigba, Alhaji Omotosho Adam, Prince Micheal Ajamu and Alhaji Shehu Nseri. Others are Mr Daniel Nathaniel, Alhaji Karufe Shonga, Gbenga Falusi, and Mrs Joel Adedayo – late Thursday.
The elder’s statement partly read, “It is our contention that the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led national caretaker committee should not inaugurate Bolarinwa as that would mean that an interim person whose tenure ought to have lapsed is again handed the reign of the party despite the controversy surrounding his headship of the party.
“Whereas other states had validly elected state executive committees, Kwara had none and so it had and still has a special case.
“Nothing buttresses this point more than the APC communication of 30 July, 2018 where it was clearly stated that the caretaker committee was an arrangement that came into place as a result of the developments in the state at the time.
“Our position, therefore, is that a caretaker committee cannot under whatever guise succeed another caretaker committee.”
Shortly before the inauguration, THE INFORMANT247 gathered that Bolarinwa was denied entrance into the secretariat thus giving rise to speculations that Kwara committee might be exempted from the inauguration due to crisis among the stakeholders.
This prompted protesters, carrying different placards to besiege the party secretariat to prevail on the National caretaker committee to inaugurate Bolarinwa.
The Chief of Staff to the president, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari was said to have weighed into the crisis, as well, and called for Bolarinwa’s swearing in.
Also, the postponement of the presentation of the budget for the 2021 Fiscal Year earlier scheduled for Today, December 11 was reportedly linked to the crisis.
Meanwhile, no official statement has been released by the governor on this development as at the time of filing this report.