Kwara Central APC Senatorial Candidate Mallam Saliu Mustapha has said that he has been maintaining silence because he wanted peace to continue to reign.
Mallam Saliu has reaffirmed that as a leader, it is expected of him not to respond to all comments, so as to foster peace and harmony.
He has said that the results of the senatorial primaries was a reflection of the wishes of party stakeholders, leaders and members in the district.
In a statement he personally signed and released to the media by his campaign organization, Mustapaha urged leaders of the party to temper their words and utterances in public places in order not to derail the modest gains already made by the party at the state and national levels.
“While I assert that the outcome of our primaries represents the democratic choice of the largest majority of party members who freely exercised their franchise, I appeal to leaders of our party to leave a legacy of being good sportsmen. We should also avoid comments that do not unite the party and its members, notwithstanding our personal feelings,” said Mustapha, who is also the Turaki of Ilorin.
“Again, the outcome of any democratic contest is not as important as how the contenders and leaders manage the outcome. This is especially true of shadow elections. On our part, we will continue to reach out and build consensus within the file and ranks of our party. Constant personal attacks on anyone, especially party leaders, does not serve any good purpose. As leaders, we are better defined by how we handle electoral setbacks and our choice of words during grief than how we revel in victory.
“While the party structure continues to unite everyone behind a common agenda to secure a landslide victory at all levels for our party, I appeal to all leaders to avoid comments that are not only untrue and unfair to delegates who made their choice but also hurt leaders whose silence and calm in the face of constant attacks is more about playing the bigger person and uniting the party than about being guilty of any accusations. At all times, real leaders must show restraint in their outbursts.”
