- Alleges Governor of inciting violence
- Says Samari should be arrested for forgery
- Says Sen. Danboi was handpicked
Leaders and elders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kwara State have reacted to the Thursday attacks on members of the party during the stakeholders meeting on membership registration/revalidation in the state.
The group has equally alleged Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for inciting thugs armed with dangerous weapons to disrupt the peacefully ongoing event.
In a reaction, the group under the aegies of APC Integrity Group described the attack which saw scores of party members severely injured as unprecedented, undemocratic and unacceptable.
The development was announced in a statement jointly signed by members of the group on Friday in Ilorin, the state capital.
There have been a leadership crisis in the state in the last one month when the National Secretariat of the All Progressive Congress suspended the erstwhile caretaker chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa Omolaja and thus replacing him with his deputy, Alh. Abdullahi Samari, causing members of the party to faction with their respective perceived chairman.
The group which said while it was really concerned with the crisis within the party, it was equally embarrassed.
“We consider the crisis as unnecessary as it is unreasonable. That is why all men of good conscience should come out to condemn the violence that the crisis engendered at the venue of the Stakeholders meeting convened by the Chairman and members of the registration and revalidation committee on Monday, 2nd day February 2021 at the banquet Hall, opposite Government House llorin by 12noon, they added.
It said the administration of the governor takes refuge in deceitful humility, so does his handlers and sycophants who have awashed the public with false claims about who caused the crisis and mayhem at the venue of the stakeholders meeting.
It alleged further that the press conference is called not only to debunk their claims, but to tell the whole world how the governor had forcefully inaugurated violence into the state
While supporting it reactions with claims, it said, “We must also let you know that the meeting which was at the instance of the Chairman of the Registration/Revalidation of Membership committee was for 12noon Wednesday 3rd of February 2021. But the committee members were not at the venue until about 1pm.
“Curiously before some of BOB members got to the venue we discovered that the entire space had already been taken over by the governors women supporters and thugs while the main entrance of the hall still remained under lock and key. All this while, none of the members of the committee or their chairman was available. While the BOB group
were still waiting for the meeting to take off, we got on good authority that the committee chairman and his members were ostensibly holding meeting with the Governor and his group at the Government House. While the BOB group was still waiting, the premises where the meeting was to hold was filled with more than two
hundred women mobilised by the governor and kitted with a type of ankara cloth with his portraiít on it. It was these women that became unruly, abusive and violent later.
The women were singing: BOB ole, Akogun ole, lukman ole etc, translating: BOB Thief, Akogun Thief, Lukman Thief
“If the Governor mobilized irresponsible women to the venue and encouraged them to abuse people; who therefore was responsible for the violence?
“The mobilized women were put under
the instruction and guidance of the Governor’s Special Adviser on Women Affairs, Iya Lamule, it added
“The governor mobilized to the venue several thugs and armed them with dangerous weapons. These thugs were put under the headship of his S. A. Domestic; one Mr Obasanjo Alasi aka SOJ. The mobilized thugs were brought to the venue in one white vehicle. But the question that we need to ask is; what is the necessity to mobilize thugs to the venue of stakeholders meeting by the Governor? It was supposed to be a meeting of less than fifty invitees. It was not a carnival.
“If it was not the Governor that mobilized for violence, why was BOB, Dantala, Alase, Lawyer Adesina, Madam Laide the State women Leader etc, all belonging to BOB were the target of unwarranted attacked?
“Why was Sanmari, the Governor’s Chairman not attacked? Could BOB have brought some thugs that would attack him and members of his group?
“Moreover, who created the condition of violence in the APC Kwara State? The Governor unable to remove BOB in Kwara State despite all efforts that failed, ran for help at the North Central zone of the Party to seek the help of his Niger State counterpart to do what he has no power to do at home.
“What transpired even at the Abuja meeting at the national secretariat of the party where both parties were invited for a truce. After each group stated their sides of the case and the issue of letter purportedly issued to Samari mentioned, both the north central state chairman who chaired the meeting as well as the acting national secretary of the party feigned ignorance about the letter, emphasising further that the letter in Samari’s possession did not emanate from either the acting secretary of the party or the secretariat.
“When all attempts failed, another meeting was called at the instance of the north central state party chairman who also doubles as the Governor of Niger state in Minna. In attendance was the minister of information, Alh. Lai Mohammed, BOB, Chief Akogun, and Senator Zuruk where it was decided again that the minister and the governor should both meet in the governors Abuja residence to find a final solution to the impasse. Now at the meeting, the governor agreed with the minister that for peace to reign, he has agreed that BOB should continue as the state care taker chairman so that peace could return to the state. Before the minister left, he extracted words from the governor on the outcome of the meeting to which the governor said he was satisfied.
“We state categorically here while it would have been better for the committee Chairman to avail himself with the true situation of events, we want to state that from his operations thus far, Senator John Danboi and his members are unfit to do any meaningful party registration and revalidation in the state.
“We therefore reject the committee in its entirety. But we must put on record here that BOB did not arrive the venue of the meeting in company of thugs or cultists. Again we want to challenge the chairman to confirm if there was no discussion between him and BOB where he told BOB not to worry about the attack on the venue of the meeting. He said he is on top of the matter since he has all the list of candidates, including that of the two Honourable Ministers Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Senator Gbemisola Saraki and that of BOB. embers are unfit to do From the foregoing all lover of the truth will know that Governor Abdulrahaman
Abdulrazak is really behind the crisis in Kwara State chapter of APC