By Mumini AbdulKareem/Bukola Adama
Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has debunked claims in certain quarters that he is planning to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he left with some chieftains of the party prior to 2015 general elections.
In a statement on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, the governor said he, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and other political leaders in Kwara have no reason to return to the PDP.
Governor Ahmed clarified that the insinuations, which emerged from his recent interview with a newspaper, did not suggest that he was planning to leave, rather, he was stating the conditions under which he and other political stakeholders in the state left the PDP.
Ahmed emphasised that he, Saraki and other governors left the PDP due to impunity, disregard for the rule of law and lack of inclusiveness in the party at the time following extensive consultations with stakeholders and supporters. He, therefore, declared that he, Dr. Saraki, other stakeholders and supporters are committed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and currently have no intention to cross-carpet to the opposition PDP.
The governor also urged those commenting on the matter to read the said interview properly, rather than relying on social media headlines and insinuations to draw uninformed conclusions.
Governor Ahmed also advised members of the legacy parties of the APC that are urging him and Senator Bukola Saraki to hasten their exit from the party to educate themselves with that interview instead of making misguided comments on issues they have no knowledge of.
He affirmed his full support for the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari and commended him for the unprecedented federal projects in Kwara State, which he added, were aided by the intervention of Saraki.
In a related development, leaders of the APC in Baruten Local Government Area of the state have rejected speculations they have left the party.
A member of the party in the area had alleged the leaders defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on alleged marginalisation.
A statement by a member of the APC caucus in the local government, Alhaji Idris Buko, however, expressed gratitude of members of the party to the leadership of the party in the state for giving them their due adding that “we are not marginalised”.
The statement reads in part: “To set the record straight, at no time or forum was the issue of leaving APC for another party was ever listed as an issue for discussion at any meeting and at no time did the state leadership of our party ever invited nor informed us of contemplating such an Idea
“However, it’s pertinent to state here that the said author of the Publication is a card carrying member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and it’s incontrovertible that he participated in all the elections conducted as a member of PDP the record are there.”
The Baruten chapter of the APC applauded the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Minister of Information, Lai Muhammad, Governor Ahmed as well as the two distinguished Ambassadors in Japan and Malaysia, for their contributions to the success and growth of the party in the state.
