‘Kwara North should produce next governor’

AN All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Kwara State, Alhaji Shuaib Yaman, has indicated that the formula for the party to win 2019 election is for it to pick its candidate from Kwara North senatorial district.

Yaman, a political associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the district’s numerical strength, compared to the other two districts, is capable of giving the APC victory at the poll.

The aspirant told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, that Kwara Central delivered 41 per cent of the votes that brought in the incumbent governor, while Kwara North gave him only 20 per cent.

He said: “By the way, Ilorin has the highest population, because it is the state capital. The inhabitants are made up of people from all parts of the state and even non indigenes.

“Going by the voting pattern in the last election, Ilorin delivered 41 per cent votes. Whether we like it or not, Bukola Saraki will take a chunk out of that. Today, go to Kwara North, we are almost 95 per cent APC.

“We are coming together for the first time and the Emirs have announced that the people they represent are all APC. If you take our own 30 per cent, which is original, Bukola Saraki will take 50 per cent of the 41 per cent of the Kwara Central; leaving about 20.5 per cent.

“Which reasonable political calculation would pick 20.5 per cent, instead of 30 per cent that is assured.”

Yaman is confident that the APC would pick its governorship candidate from the northerner part of the state.

He added: “The PDP short-changed this country for so long, by using autocratic means in selecting its candidates. This is precisely what the APC has come to change. The APC is a party based on fairness and justice. I cannot even dream it that the APC will give the slot to Kwara Central.”

Justifying why Kwara North should produce the next governor, he said: “I happen to come from Kwara North and we strongly believe that given the singular reason of giving every part of the state a sense of belonging, we believe the district should be the one to produce the next governor. And it is simple. Kwara Central has had it for 12 good years. The late Admiral Mohammed Lawal for four years and Saraki had eight years, making a total of 12.

“Now, Kwara South is almost completing its eight years. And it is significant here that one individual is aspiring from Kwara South. It means that there must be a sense of fairness from this people from Kwara South. It must be because of their sense of justice that no one from the district has out to say he is contesting the governorship seat in the 2019 elections.

“Every other part must be given its own due place of recognition. And I say it all the time: How will Kwara Central justify it that they have had it for 12 years? And they will now come and appropriate another eight years that belongs to Kwara North, making theirs 20 and on what pedestal will anybody stand to say the northerners should not have? Are we sub-humans or we are not qualified to rule or that we are slaves? In whatever way we look at it, it is unjustifiable.

“Take Nigeria as an instance, northerner Nigeria as it is constituted has got enough numerical strength to keep the presidency in perpetuity. But, for every part of the nation to have a sense of belonging, Kwara North has conceded that it should rotational and it has become a convention.

“The other argument I hear is that it is not in the constitution that we must rotate. There are even constitutions that are not written. The British constitution is just a Charter. It is not written.

“The foundation for peace is justice. At this stage, we believe what is just is just and what is fair is fair. It is the turn of the Kwara North to produce the governor. Anybody giving any other story is saying it on selfish stand.

“This is the story they bandied in 2011. They told us that if we want to defeat Bukola Saraki, we must field an Ilorin man. Dele Belgore was presented, he did not win. Abdulfatah Ahmed from Kwara South won. So, why are they giving us the same soup that we tasted yesterday that was bitter. Either way, it is wrong, immoral and unjustifiable for Kwara  Central to even attempt; after all they claim to be our brothers.”