Magajis/Alanguas Forum fault Lai Mohammed on loyalty to Emirate, says he’s never visited Emir since assuming office 

By Mumini Abdulkareem

The Magajis and Alanguas Forum in Kwara State last night came down hard on the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed over his reply to the call for his outright sack by President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged inflammatory comment against the Emirate.
At a press conference last week held in Ilorin, the community heads across five local governments of Ilorin West, Ilorin South, Ilorin East, Asa and Moro in Kwara State said the Minister is on a war path with the emirate and the indigenes adding that describing the last bye-election held in Irepodun/Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin with the Berlin Wall undermined his office and status.
But the minister while reacting to the call said he never called for the disunity of the Emirate by comparing the loss of the PDP in the bye-election to the defeat of the Berlin Wall of Kwara politics and challenged the forum to prove him otherwise.
But last night, the forum in its response to the minister’s challenge reiterated the call for his immediate sack by President Buhari and accused the minister of disrespecting the palace and the Emir of Ilorin.
Speaking through the Secretary-General of the forum and the Magaji Nda of Ilorin, Alhaji Soliu Woru Mohammed during a telephone chat last night, the Forum described the minister as a “big liar” over the issue.
According to him, “The Minister challenged us to produce evidence that he disrespected the Emir. We want to ask him (Lai Mohammed) as minister representing Kwara state, when has he visited Ilorin and come to the palace to visit the Emir who is a first class traditional ruler.
“Presidents and ministers do come to pay homage whenever they are in town or on transit. We have President Jonathan and even the Minister for Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, they have all visited at one time or the other.
“Why is Lai Mohammed avoiding the palace as a minister? The Minister is a big liar, he said he didn’t insult the Emir or the Emirate, when has he visited the Emir or go to Kwara North to visit the traditional rulers in his capacity as a minister. If that is not an act of disrespect, then what is it, and what could be more insultive than that?
“We reiterated the call for his sack and he has with his action disrespected the Emir and the People of the emirate. We call on all Ilorin sons and daughters to understand the position of the minister and refused to be used to divide their heritage. They should henceforth leave the party for him and refuse to join him to further imperialists interest in Kwara”, he added.