Although the race for who gets what in the incoming cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari is still on, the issue has however reverberated loud in Kwara State with many All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders expressing hope that the state might get two nominations from the President. Head Politics, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM writes on the cold war it has however generated among party stalwarts.
For the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the issue of ministerial appointment(s) has triggered a cold war between top chieftains of the party who has suddenly become foes after an alliance that birthed the party’s victory during the last gubernatorial election in the state which produced Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in March.
Although there were quite a lot of internal wranglings and disagreement among the top chieftains of the party in the days leading to the last general elections, the resolve to fight a common enemy in the person of former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki reportedly made many party leaders who were aggrieved with how some of their colleagues had ran the affairs of the party to look the side from what some of them now consider as unacceptable.
However, following the conclusion of the election, the centre seem difficult to hold with top members of the party engaging themselves in a cold fight over who gets appointed to fill Kwara State ministerial slot which was occupied by former Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
For those who would have loved to deny any rift among the party chieftains on the issue of ministerial appointment, events in the polity appeared a clear betrayal of that narrative. According to some members of the party, the APC needs to put its house in order and come together to make its victory during the last general poll count for the people of the state rather than involve in divisive tendencies that could further impact negatively on the fortunes of the party. In the cause of the present struggle for ministerial appointment, some of the members of the party have reportedly openly shunned events and programmes that was organised by their “foes” in the party. One of the most discussed event regarding this was the annual Ramadan lecture that was organised by the former Minister in Oro. Although Governor Abdulrazaq sent a representative but some political watchers believed the Governor deliberately, diplomatically stayed away from the event as a fallout of the cold war between him and Mohammed over the ministerial issue.
The Dichotomy
Between the Governor and the former Minister, the crux of the matter, it was gathered, was that while the former minister reportedly claimed he was the one that made the victory possible at the last poll deploying federal instruments and resources, the governor disagreed with the position on the grounds that he had been in the forefront of the struggle for years spending huge personal resources from his deep pocket. The issue almost degenerated to a public affair recently when supporters of both camps engaged themselves on many social media platforms to debate who is the leader of the party between the Governor and the former minister. Governor Abdulrazaq because of the disagreement was said to have declared support for the appointment of a top chieftain of the party, Senator Makanjuola Suleiman Ajadi for the position against the choice of the former minister.
The many sins of Lai Mohammed
According to a top member of the party who preferred not to be named, Lai Mohammed returning to the ministerial position is a big disservice to Kwara and one that will only make him continue to fight his perceived enemies in the party rather than uplift the state.
“We believe that the former minister has not really used that prestigious position of a minister to benefit Kwara. As the former Minister of Information and Culture, except for late Stella Oyedepo, the former Director-General of National Theatre and one time Director of Kwara State Art Council and the (embattled) Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Modibbo Kawu who he is ironically now fighting, you can hardly point to any Kwaran who has benefitted from that position and yet there are over 20 federal government parastatals under his ministry.
“That is for appointive positions, a worst narrative is even happening in the state. The former minister despite sitting on top of that ministry then which also put him in charge of culture in whole of the country, our rich cultural sites like Esie and Owu Falls which are even in Kwara South where he hails from and the Patigi Regatta could not be developed to achieve their full potentials despite the enormous benefits that can accrue to the state when they go national and global. Rather than using the position to impact the state, he was just causing trouble and fighting people everywhere. What kind of attitude is that, the party chieftain queried.
The Lobbyists
According to findings, many of the party’s gubernatorial aspirants and chieftains across the three sensational districts really wanted the post of the former minister and they put in all the resources and connections at their disposal to get the lone ministerial slot of the state. The leaders of the various groups within the APC frequented Abuja in the last few weeks to lobby presidential and top party leaders at the national level over the issue. Some of these party chieftains said to be seriously interested in the position, include former Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem; former member of the House of Representatives for Ilorin West/Asa, Hon Moshood Mustapha; one time minister of Transports, Bio Ibrahim and former gubernatorial aspirant, Soliu Mustapha. Others include former governorship running mate of the PDP during 2015 election, Yinka Aluko; Senator Gbemisola Saraki; former gubernatorial aspirant, Yakubu Gobir; former chairman of the PDP, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo; pioneer PDP chairman in the state, Barrister Kunle Suleiman and former factional chairman of the PDP, Prince Sunday Fagbemi.
Two Ministerial Prospects
Last week, despite the “gang up” against the former minister by his fellow party men, news filtered in that the president has reportedly included the name of the former minister. However despite the development, many party members reportedly stepped up their lobby and some even relocated to Abuja, it was gathered. Following the twist, many of the top chieftains of the party have sounded very hopeful that the state might get two ministerial positions this time around. How far that narrative will go will become clearer in the days ahead when the President announces his choices.
Tantrums in Senatorial Districts
So far, many of the party leaders and their supporters have expressed varied views in support of their principals with press releases and counter press statements. The Kwara State Coordinator of Kwara Consultative Forum, Hassan Ibrahim Sani, a staunch supporter of Prof Oba Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem reiterated that Kwara Central has not conceded the ministerial position (for the former minister) insinuating that his principal is still very much in the race.
“This is not a matter of concession. What I believe is that if we have not given other people the opportunity to serve, we won’t know if there are better hands to handle offices. We have to give honour to Alhaji Lai Mohammed, he has done his best in Kwara State but the fact remains that if somebody like Prof Oba had been given the opportunity, the state would have fared better. Situation controls us and we don’t have to be sentimental. Let’s give responsibilities to those that can handle it effectively to benefit the people of the state in general. Not just to distribute according to tribe or religion”, he added.
Also there are discordant tunes coming from the home base of the minister in Kwara with group for and against his reappointment. There is presently no love lost among APC stakeholders in Kwara over the issue. Kwara North stakeholders have openly canvassed for the position while a segment from Kwara South under the name of Consultative Forum led by Dr. Hezekiah Oyedepo who led other chieftains of the party during a briefing recently, pleaded with the leaders of the party to prevail on the President to see that Mohammed retains his position in the Federal Executive Council.
Home Stretch
As the situation is now, the final days to the appointment of the cabinet by the President will no doubt echo very loudly in Kwara and depending on where the pendulum finally swings, the dramatis personae will either sheath their swords and aggregate their energy for the growth of the state or continue to “flex muscles” over power and popularity at the expense of governance.
