Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday boasted that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will win the 2019 presidential elections.
Mr Saraki said this in Ilorin at a meeting with PDP members who came from the 16 local government areas of the state.
He also expressed his confidence that his new party would emerge victorious in all the local government areas of Kwara State.
Saraki said that the victory of PDP at both federal and state levels would be beneficial to all the members in the state.
The Senate President said that the future of PDP was now brighter than it used to be.
“If we emerge victorious at the federal level, all of us will be the beneficiaries. In the state, with your support we will win the state for PDP.
“All of you here are the key players in Kwara politics. With unity of purpose, no party can contest with you.
“We are here to unite all of us under the party we belong to today. I am assuring all members that there will be equity, internal democracy and justice.
“It is not going to be winners take all. As far as I am concerned, everybody here today belong to our political structure.
“There is nothing like old or new Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We have all become one PDP.
“I want all of us to be united for the progress and development of Kwara State.
“As par the politics of the state, nobody can wrest the power from us I if we are united. By the grace of God we will emerge victorious both at the federal and state levels.
“We will ensure that we work as one party because we have always worked together before.
“We will see that all the wards and local governments’ popular candidates emerge based on their popularity and acceptability,” Saraki said.
He assured PDP members that there would be no anointed candidates in all the elective positions.
“I don’t have any anointed candidate at all levels. I don’t have candidates for the state Assembly, National Assembly. It is the person you want in your constituency that I will okay.
“Don’t allow anybody to deceive you that I have endorsed any candidate,” he said.
The Senate President implored party leaders and elders not to drop his name to impose unpopular candidates.
“All of us will collectively choose who becomes the next governor. We will ensure that there is no faction, but one PDP.
“We will ensure that meetings in the local government areas take place in one venue. And we will all work together for the interest of the party,” he said.
Saraki appealed to all party members to start work for the party to emerge victorious next year.
“I am sure many more will come back and join us because those that left left under the wrong assumption that it will be different from what it used to be.
“They were misled that those coming are out to move them away. Nobody is moving you away because this place belongs to you too.
“Let us go back and start work closely together and by the grace of God we will all be victorious,” the Senate President said.
…tells members to vote for candidate of choice in 2019 guber
By Ahmed Ajikobi
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has said he has no anointed candidate among those that will be contesting in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state adding that member of public should vote for their own candidate.
Saraki further said that those supported by members of the public are asthmatically his candidate
He disclosed this in Ilorin at the town hall meeting held at Nimatoni hall Unity, road adding that people should be wary of who they will vote for in the coming election and based their decision on performances at previous appointments.
Saraki also charged youths who are willing to contest for any post to come out if they have the requirement and advised that popular candidates who have the knowledge to handle the office should be elected .
He advice them not to be scared of any body or be intimidated by anyone but elect people that are popular and have requisite knowledge to handle the office.
“Don’t let anyone deceive you against your wish that I want a particular person or tell you this is the person leader wants”, he added.
Saraki thanked Kwarans for their support for him all the time in term of prayers and encouragement during difficult times adding that it’s their prayers that serve as the bedrock of the strength that saw him overcome the difficulties.
“Today the enemies are frustrated but I don’t have any power than our prayer(s) and the Quran.”
Saraki said the purpose of the meeting is to give member of the public who installed him at the National Assembly feed back of the journey so far..
“I’m standing in front of you is to give report of the work we have done so far. You are my leaders because you voted me in to serve you. I will also check on others to know what they have done so far. It’s now left to you to choose on the candidate that serves you right”.
Speaking about his defection, Saraki said, he left All progressive Congress (APC) because the party has failed Nigerians.
“Tinubu’s day-dreaming if he thinks north’ll support his presidential ambition – Afenifere chieftain
A chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has said that the National leader of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is day-dreaming if he thinks the north will support his 2023 presidential ambition.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki had said that the reason why Tinubu was supporting President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential ambition was because of his 2023 dream of becoming president.
The 90-year-old statesman also urged the people of the South-West not to allow themselves to be fooled by Tinubu a second time.
Adebanjo, who spoke in Lagos said, “Tinubu is day-dreaming if he thinks the North will ever support his presidential ambition. We have our principles.
“We are not supporting Buhari under any circumstance and Tinubu cannot lead Yoruba land because all he has done is to lead us astray. All he has done for us is to give some of our people who are close to him appointments.
“Nothing tangible has been done for Yoruba land. He gave his stooges appointments, nothing more, nothing less. If he has done more than that, let him say it.”
Adebanjo said the only demand the Yoruba had made was restructuring which the APC had been dishonest about.
The Afenifere chieftain said one of the reasons Afenifere supported Buhari in 2015 was because of his promise to restructure the country to allow for true federalism.
He said instead of keeping its promise, the APC resorted to setting up a committee on restructuring to deceive gullible Nigerians and the likes of Tinubu participated in the grand scheme of deception.
“How can they be telling us about restructuring committee, when from the outset, they were supposed to have started restructuring. Who do they think they are fooling? If Tinubu is daydreaming, he shouldn’t think others are daydreaming like him.”
“Buhari is a stranger to us in Yoruba land. The only Yoruba supporting him are those benefitting from this corrupt regime,” Punch quoted Adebanjo as saying
Impeachment: APC’ll meet their match if they foment trouble- senators Rafiu, Misau
Isah Misau and Rafiu Ibrahim, both senators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), say the All Progressives Congress (APC) will meet their match in them if the ruling party attempts to foment trouble in the upper legislative chamber when they reconvene.
The National Assembly embarked on its annual recess on July 24 and it is expected to reconvene on September 25.
In a statement on Wednesday, Misau and Ibrahim, accused the APC of focusing on Saraki and making him the subject of all discussions.
The senators asked the ruling party should devote more time to tackling the various issues confronting the country.
“This is the first time in the history of the country that the ruling party will leave the issue of its achievements and start blaming its failure on just one individual, no matter who the individual is,” the statement read.
“It is also the first time a ruling party will plan to hoodwink Nigerians by saying everything wrong under its watch is due to the action and inaction of one man.
“APC has devoted all the time and knowledge of their national chairman, national leader, publicity secretary, four senators and two presidential aides to the daily abuse of Saraki, such that it appears as if Saraki is the only politician in Nigeria today. They have made Saraki the issue in Nigerian politics today.
“If these individuals devote the energy they are exerting on Saraki to finding solutions to the security problem, economic crisis and collapse of infrastructure, among them, they will come out with some action plan, except they are only skilful in mischief making.
“We can see through this plot. The plan is to get Saraki so engrossed in the battle for survival in the senate and the pummelling from the APC cabal such that he will have no time to pursue his aspiration for 2019. However, this is a short time strategy. It will not work. That is why the man remains unfazed by the antics.
“We are surprised that all the decisions that the senate took as an institution is now blamed on Saraki. Are we also going to give the credit of all the achievements of the senate to Saraki as well?
“The laws that have been signed by the president and which led to the World Bank improving the rating of Nigeria in the Ease of Doing Business Report, the Petroleum Industry Governance Bills which broke the jinx of over 14 years on the law, the progressive constitution amendment bills, the five anti-corruption laws, and many others, as well as the fact that the 8th Senate has done better than the previous ones in terms of number of bills passed, the petitions successfully treated and the various interventions: will all these be credited to Saraki and not the entire Senate?
“You blame a man for what an institution lawfully did. Is this not dishonest? Senate leader, Ahmed Lawan who moved the motion for our adjournment till September 25 and the minority leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio who seconded the motion are in APC, yet they kept quiet when all the falsehood are being peddled now that Saraki unilaterally and hurriedly adjourn the senate.
“These senators kept quiet about their roles simply because they want to be good boys. When the motion for adjournment was carried by voice vote, no dissenting voice was heard.
“Many people who are grandstanding now do not care how history will record their roles. How can those who play key roles in the senate now turn round and be blaming everything on one man? Is Saraki now a superman? Is he not just one senator like each and every one of us? Let us play back all the tape records of the senate proceedings.
“Which of the decisions that are now being criticized did the APC pretenders in the senate oppose? Of the ten- man senate leadership, five of them are in APC. Those who enjoy privileges in the senate now look the other way when the presidency is complaining.
“We will however warn the APC that they will meet a match in those of us in PDP if they try to foment trouble in the senate whenever we resume. They have made many attempts to subvert this Senate, including stealing of our mace, brutalizing of members of staff of the senate invasion of the senate complex with hooded and masked security agents, refusal to sign important bills, using security agents and anti-corruption agencies to intimidate members and the leadership as well as initiating malicious prosecution against members.”
