By Steve Oni, Ilorin
The reelection bid of President Muhammadu Buhari has received a great boost with the backing of a group under the aegis of Kwara Elder Statesmen and women.
Addressing journalists on Sunday in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, the group’s spokesman, Dr. Hezekiah Oyedepo, said “having taken our history and political realities into consideration and vetted the antecedents of all the candidates, we hereby declare our support for the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari because we believe he has done well within the limit of financial resources available as well as political realities of the country and the glaring resistance to positive change by some reactionary elements.”
He said: “We distance ourselves and our people from the greed-driven diatribes and frustrations of a certain political dynasty in Kwara state against the President. In that light, we throw our weight behind the President’s plan to evolve a new political culture where nobody is seen to be above the law or is allowed to continue to trade with public funds as they recently exposed themselves to be doing.”
The group expressed its appreciation to the President for its administration’s several infrastructural projects in Kwara state, with particular reference to the reconstruction of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road which, it noted, is pivotal to the economic development of the state, recalling that the road and others “such as Chikanda road were cash cows for some corrupt contractors who colluded with the local political interests to ensure these roads were never completed.”
Affirming that Buhari’s reelection would help to entrench the masses of Nigeria and further enhance their wellbeing, the group opined that if anybody is afraid of the President, it can only be the corrupt clique and their hangers on who had long held the country by the jugular.
The group also endorsed the candidature of the state APC governorship candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, who they said is the new face of the people’s struggle in the state, adding that the group agrees with the governorship candidate that “the crises of governance, poverty and youth restiveness and frustrations in Kwara state are directly linked to the irresponsible, corrupt and morally challenged political leadership in the state which holds our people and their culture in utter contempt.”
On alleged plan to annex Kwara state to Lagos, the group described the allegation as insulting to the good people of the state, averring that the state is not the property of anyone. “We found it particularly insulting that the fellows making this claim are those whose origins and credentials are suspect. These are people, nay political contractors, without any credible roots in this state”, says the group.
The group enjoined the people to come out massively on election dates to cast their ballots for Buhari, Abdulrahman ABDULRASAK and other APC candidates, while also calling for credible and transparent elections in the state and the country as a whole.”We call for security beef up before, during and after the elections. We also urge the civil society groups and observers to pay attention to Kwara without being partisan.”
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