Ó tó gé Slogan: Don’t Drag Our Emir into Politics, or Denigrate the Seat of the Emirate Council – Kwarans tells KWASAA CEO.
Reactions have trailed a leaked letter that was written to the State director of the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) which was dated 6th November, 2018, with the heading of the letter reading “REGULATORY COMPLAIN ON CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENT”, which was signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency (KWASAA), Alhaji Hammed N. Olufadi.
Part of the letter read: “Pursuant to the above, my office received a direct complain from the Emir of Ilorin Palace on the APC campaign attached that is capable of causing incitement among the people. However, we have had to do due diligence and found out that APCON approved the advert for deployment which we believe might have been done in ignorance of the prevailing situation in the State”. The letter also stated that the agency wants a modification of language to the campaign slogan “Ó tó gé”.
Reacting on behalf of the Emir of Ilorin, the Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association (IEYDA) in a press statement jointly signed by its National president and National publicity secretary, Alh. Abdullahi Babatunde Salau and Alh. Uthman Jagunma respectively, the press statement was tagged: “Stop Blackmailing Our Emir, He is not for/against any Political Party”. The association warned Alhaji Olufadi and challenged him to provide evidence of the letter written to his agency to lay the complain from the palace of the Emir of Ilorin.
Parts of the statement read: “The Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association (IEYDA) wishes to state that the claim of receiving complain from Ilorin Emir’s palace by the Chief Executive Officer of KWASAA is false and a blackmail to His Royal Highness, the Emir of Ilorin, Alh. (Dr.) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, as the Emir never directed anyone to lodge a complain to KWASAA.
It continued: “It is on this note we challenge the KWASAA Chief Executive Officer to provide the letter written to his agency to lodge the complain or provide the phone number through which the complain was lodged from the Emir’s Palace”.
In the same vein, the APC gubernatorial candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has rejected the Kwara State government’s position on his campaign slogan. In his words: “We totally reject Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s hypocritical statement of Friday December 7 in which he claimed that our campaign slogan was capable of pitching people against one another”.
“We are surprised and disappointed at the action of the Kwara State Government and Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency (KWASAA) over their threat to pull down our billboards and campaign banners or posters that have this slogan”.
“If, despite their underwhelming performance in the past 14 years, the Kwara State Government and its patrons do not find their slogan of ‘continuity’ as contemptuous, provocative and utterly insulting to the people of Kwara State, it is quite annoying for them to complain that the opposition is saying “Ò tó gé” and calling for a change”.
Kwarans from various walks of life has also condemned the CEO of KWASAA with some even calling for his arrest and persecution, while others feels he should be showed the way out of the Ilorin Emirate for spreading rumors and falsehood against the revered institution of the Emirate Council, some also called for his unreserved apology to all members of the Ilorin community. The next step of the agency and it’s CEO is however unknown.