Saraki only facilitated Suleiman’s appointment, he has since left our party – Kwara PDP

The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cleared the air over the purported party affiliation of the Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar Olanrewaju Suleiman, fondly referred to as ‘Amana’.

According to a statement by the publicity secretary of the party, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, the party, while claiming that it has received numerous inquiries regarding the political affiliation of Professor and his followers, which has been shrouded in serious controversy, claimed that Professor Abubakar Suleiman ceased to be a member of the PDP in 2019 following his appointment as NILDS DG.

The statement said although Amana’s appointment was facilitated by former Senate President Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki (CON), Professor Suleiman publicly announced his withdrawal from active partisan politics in 2019, perhaps to protect his new office, adding that his non-partisan stance was recently reaffirmed in a public statement by one of his aides, emphasizing Professor Suleiman’s apolitical status due to his current official position.

The statement furthered that it is erroneous to refer to Professor Suleiman as a chieftain of the PDP in Kwara State, saying despite being a beneficiary of Dr Saraki’s leadership, Professor Suleiman or anyone associated with him has not been compelled to remain in the PDP.

However, flowing from the above, the statement added that Professor Suleiman’s political affiliation, whether to the APC or any other party, is a matter for him to explain to those he owes explanations while emphasizing that it would amount to confusion for anyone to claim that the NILDS DG was defecting from PDP to APC.

“Our leader, H. E. Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, is not involved in whatever political decision taken by Professor Abubakar Suleiman and or any of his followers. To this end, claims that he and his followers are joining the APC as placeholders for Saraki are baseless and false.

“We wish Professor Suleiman and his supporters, including Risikatu Olohunoje, the former Assistant State PRO, who have resigned from their party’s positions, which were obtained through the 2018 merger agreement when we left the APC for the PDP, the best in their new political endeavours.

“The PDP in Kwara State uses this medium to assure Kwarans and the general public that our Party remains preoccupied with our strong determination to rescue Kwara from the shackles of kleptomaniacs under Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq who have been holding the state backwards and put our people in perpetual hardship since 2019,” the statement added.