By Mumini AbdulKareem
Former House of Representatives aspirant for Ilorin West/Asa Federal Constituency and one time gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, Hon Moshood Mustapha has declare support for Governor Abdurrahman Abdulrazaq over the leadership crisis bedeviling the party in the state.
Mustapha, a former aggrieved member of the party who had said he was rigged out of the party primaries that produce the Governor in 2019 however said this is not the time for politics in Kwara State but governance adding that all hands must be on deck to ensure the success of the present administration for the people to benefit the dividends of democracy.
Speaking with National Pilot weekend over the partyโs latest crisis, Mustapha said:
โThis is not the best of times for us to have this unnecessary quarrel within the party and I do not see any rationale behind the crisis to the extent that it would affect the general well-being of the people. If you ask me about what will be the stake of my own group in the tendencies of APC, I will tell you I align myself with the governor and the simple reason is because this is the time for governance not politics.
The political era has gone and someone has emerged as the Governor. By all standard and convention, the Governor is the leader of the party and if we want to have peace at the party level, we must be submissive to the governor who is the leader of the party whether we like it or not and whether you like the governor or you not. He is the number first citizen and number one party chairman of the state.
โFor me, I don’t think it is the time for us to distract the governor from governance so that we don’t give him excuse for failure and we say our mantra is ‘O to ge’ I think that we should sheath sword and cooperate with the governor. We still have about two years or more and cannot afford to continue to fight and allow our people to suffer. I have always been part of the progressivesโ, he added.
The former Commissioner for Lands said โI have already told the aggrieved members my position right from time. We do not play politics with everything because there can never be progress. We don’t take time to go and see the governor to advise him on the way we feel that he should govern the state to enable the citizen enjoy the dividends of democracy. We all ran against each other for the governorship and at a point somebody has to emerge whichever way that person has emerged, God does not make mistakes. God has given that person the position and we can’t challenge God, He knows the reason why he gave Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, our responsibility now is to see how he can succeed so that he will be able to deliver for the people not to suffer
โBOB should allow the Governor to concentrate on governance, we should not give the government any excuse for failure and as far as I’m concerned, I’m ready to continue to cooperate and support the governor for him to succeed and deliver on the promises. I’m not mincing words as I have taken position on the issue which I can always justify. I have never taken contract from the governor or ask him for one and I don’t think I will ever ask him for contract. We must all come together, if the national executives of the party decide to say somebody should step aside and another person to take over, who are we to complain about that. As far as I’m concerned I’m ready to support Samariโ.
On the issue leading to some aggrieved elders leaving that party, Mustapha noted that โIt is a matter of choice; nobody forced anybody to the party. If they choose to leave and go to another party, good luck. Most of them were not in APC before. If they stay, I will be happy, but if they try to go, that does not mean the end of the APC, the party will move forwardโ, he submitted.
