By Mumini Abdulkareem
Residents of Agbaji Community, Ilorin West Local Government Areas of Kwara State, the ancestral home of former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has denied allegation making the rounds that they have been abandoned.
In a press release jointly signed by the National President and National General Secretary of the Agbaji Development Association (ADA), Alhaji Musa Yusuf and Abdulraheem Ganiyu Olarenwaju, the rumour making the round in the social media that Saraki abandoned the execution of all the projects and programme he initiated while he was in office after he lost the election was not true.
The statement reads in parts:
“Attention of the people of Agbaji has been drawn to the unsavoury rumour making round in the social media that “Saraki has abandoned his people and stopped the reconstruction of Agbaji Central Mosque among others.
“Every well-meaning Nigerian was aware of the fact that the last general election was not between Senator Bukola Saraki and APC, but between the Senate President and the Federal Government of Nigeria, where the latter used every resources at its disposal to subjugate Senator Bukola Saraki and had APC candidates declared winners. However, it is worthy of note that, even with the so-called Federal might, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, being the man of his people won his polling units.
“To the best of our knowledge, and sequel to the reports from members of Agbaji Mosque Committee, the construction company, KY-FY Construction Company, handling the renovation of the Mosque has not executed up to the percentage of fund the company was paid up front. So, it was not Abubakar Bukola Saraki who stopped the construction/renovation of the Mosque but the contractor, and efforts are ongoing to ensure that the contractor is back at the site.
“There is no iota of truth in the claim that Agbaji community contributed N10m. Agbaji Community did not contribute N10m for the reconstruction of the Mosque as claimed by the writer of this fallacious story. The said Agbaji Mosque had been in existence since time immemorial. We are not constructing a new Mosque in Agbaji but renovating/reconstructing the existing Mosque.
‘The community realized a total sum of Eight Million (8,000,000) Naira Only (through special inter-compounds prayers) for the maintenance of the Mosque and the community at large”, it added.
They clarified that the prayer that was held during Saraki’s ascension to Senate Presidency was aimed at seeking Allah’s for Saraki to succeed in his leadership assignment contrary to the report that it was organized to remind him of his promise to refurbish Agbaji Central Mosque
“Only a myopic thinker will think that the entire community will come together, organize prayers just to remind someone of an issue even when the person was not present at the prayer.
“Agbaji Community did not organize any prayer to remind Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki of the Mosque. The people of Agbaji had started praying for our son since the day he became the Senate President of the 8th National Assembly. The specific objective of the prayer was for our son to have a successful tenure in office as the president of Senate then.
“Acceptance of this prayer by Allah was confirmed at the valedictory session of the last Senate where Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki was adjudged by all Senators as the most performed Senate President in the history of Nigeria. Moreover, Agbaji community recently organised a special prayer to thank Allah for successful completion of tenure in office as the Senate President.
They said even after his defeat, Dr Saraki has not ceased to extend his magnanimous hands to the people of Agbaji as he just purchased 50 NABTEB forms Agbaji.
