Since inception of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration in Kwara State, the formation of the cabinet by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq appeared to have been hit by high wired politics, horse-trading and power play that have rocked the party with many asking when the cabinet will be inaugurated. HEAD POLITICS, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM writes on the issue.
After several months of procrastination, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq recently responded to the heightened calls in the state to constitute his cabinet by sending the first batch of four commissioner nominees to the Kwara State House of Assembly for confirmation.
While the Governor’s action ended the long wait for him to kick start the process of constituting his cabinet, recent event in the polity has however appeared to have put a halt to the much anticipated process.
Although the Governor forwarded the list of all-female nominees which cut across only two among the three senatorial districts in the state, rather than douse the tension and agitation the issue has generated among the stakeholders of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), it has further exacerbated the issue.
The reason for the latest development, it was gathered, was because of the silence and alleged non activity from the Governor regarding the issue since the first list of nominees were forwarded.
According to several party insiders, the Governor appears to have relaxed the urgency to make further appointments after the initial efforts that almost imploded the party. While there are feelers that the Governor is already considering additional but very few nominees, according to a party source for further consideration, the efforts to adopt a piecemeal approach to the issue by Governor Abdulrazaq has further raised another round of concern in the party and polity.
Already, political pundits are of the opinion that the situation has the potential to further stretch the fragile line of unity between top party chieftains and the Governor to its elastic limit if not well managed.
While announcing the names of the four female nominees forwarded to the House of Assembly, the Governor through a statement from his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Rafiu Ajakaye listed a 26-year-old Joana Nnazua Kolo from Edu Local Government, wife of the DG of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mrs Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu, from Ilorin South, a daughter of former Kwara State Governor, Hajia Arinola Fatimoh Lawal representing Ilorin East Local Government and a sibling of the immediate past member of the House of Representatives for Edu/Moro/Patigi Federal Constituency of Kwara State, Hajia Ahman-Pategi.
However, the question on the lips of many party members and concerned stakeholders is when will AA as the Governor is fondly called by loyalists and supporters release full list of the nominees, will Kwarans continue to have the meal piecemeal or AA who has continued to be unpredictable to the party stakeholders continue to operate the cabinet with the first batch of nominees for now.
Checks by this medium at the State House of Assembly over when the screening of the first batch will come up, reveals that the lawmakers have not expecting anything of such for now from the executive.
“You know the Governor recently forwarded are names of four of the nominees to us for commissioners. We don’t want to screen them in batches and that is why we are yet to set a date for their screening. We are waiting for him to forward the names of others and we take them together instead of having it in batches. But we can understand the Governor has been busy of late and has engaged in many trips lately to foreign country on the request of Mr President.
“So there is no need to rush anything and I believe that those that will be appointed to work in this cabinet of change will be conscious of the fact that this is a new era and things must be done differently in order to achieve different result. We cannot continue to say we want change and yet we are opposing the actions of change that had been taken”, a state lawmaker noted while speaking with Pilot Politics over the issue.
Similarly, a top party chieftain of the APC in Kwara North had told Pilot Politics that the Governor might not helping his cause and that of the party if allowed that lingering issue of forming its cabinet to further polarize the party. But which senatorial district will be most favoured in the ‘coming’ list and what will be the fate of Ilorin West especially where the governor hailed from which has been accused by opponents of having too much already in the present cabinet. And furthermore, will the additional nominees that are expected to represent Kwara South in the new scheme of things take care of the interest of the leaders like the former chairman of the PDP in the state, Barrister Iyiola Oyedepo and the former PDP Publicity Sectary, Chief Rex Olawoye. And despite the alleged cry of marginalization from Kwara North initially when the position of minister nominated from the state were announced, is the district already getting too much in AA’s cabinet.
Many other top party chieftains that spoke on the issue, seems, only decided to tarry for a while pending the release of additional names before that know whether to rock the boat of not.
According to Moshood Mustapha, another former gubernatorial aspirant of the APC while reacting to the issue, said although the list appears to be coming in piecemeal, there is need for patient on the matter and wait for the Governor to come out with the full list.
But if that does not accommodate his interest, then he will have to voice out, he said.
“We are eagerly waiting for the list just like Kwarans and see whether it’s something that is in line with the position of the stakeholders of the party. We want to wait for the full list of the people that will drive the affairs of the state on behalf of the people of the state.
“My appeal about this is that the Governor is just letting the cat out of the bag. We should wait for the entire cat to come to see whether it’s a cat with four or six legs and one eye or two eyes… If for whatever reason we feel very uncomfortable with some of the names, we have our own channels of talking to the Governor and if we need to talk to the people to express our appreciation or disappointed to the Governor, we will not fail to do that.
I agree that the list is supposed to common out at once because of the high expectation of the people. It’s unfortunate that the Governor has agreed to release the list in piecemeal instead of all at one once. We have been very patient since the Governor was inaugurated in May, so we should just wait… for the list and we take it up from there”, he added
Also speaking on the development, Prof AbdulRaheem Shuaib Oba, former aggrieved gubernatorial aspirant of the party, was somehow evasive when asked to react to the issue of the cabinet formation.
“It was the prerogative of the Governor to do what he did (by releasing only four female names)”, a statement that many believed was escapist in the face of the gulf that allegedly existed among party stakeholders and the Governor over the list of nominees.
In the same vein, former chairman of the PDP and now a strong chieftain of the APC, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo also told this medium that “releasing the list in piecemeal is the decision of the Governor” adding that “leaves him now, shebi, he will release the rest later.
But, for Prince Sunday Fagbemi, regarded as one of the core loyalists of the Governor, there is no law that compels that Governor to release the list of his commissioner nominees all at once, adding that the Governor’s action over that issue (by adopting a piecemeal approach) is within the ambit of the law and also to exercise his right as the Governor of the state.
“That there is no law that compels the Governor to release the full list all at once. There is nothing any human being will do that will be perfect in the eyes of detractors. If you pressurize the Governor and he refused to be pressed, what do you do?
“The Governor is on tract and with the way he is going, we will get the best set of people to run the affairs of the state from across the three senatorial districts which we believe will be a win-win situation for the Governor and the people of the state who have and will be nominated”, he added.
Some of the members of the party have come out to openly attack the Governor over the issue. And according to the statement of a member of the party’s youth wing, Ibrahim Yakub that ‘With the list, it is glaring that the Governor wants to be a loner and has abandoned the finger that fed him, it remain, to be seen whether the next set of appointees will not only end the in fighting but will come in one full swop and so as not to trigger another round of agitation in the party.
