Whereas Sen. Saraki is the self-acclaimed leader of the APC in the state, having defected recently from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC with huge party machinery, Alhaji Mohammed is the party’s National Publicity Secretary, who facilitated the smooth transition of the former to the APC.
Until recently, the two leaders had enjoyed conviviality in their political relationship. No thanks to the recently concluded wards and local government congresses of the party, which have now pitched the two leaders against each other, with their supporters allegedly already spoiling for war.
E-Kwara said it reliably gathered that trouble started when, at the meeting called by the APC to fine-tune the party’s state congress coming up next Saturday, 26th April, 2014, Sen. Saraki allegedly confronted Alhaji Mohammed with the allegation of orchestrating ‘frivolous’ petitions against him to the national leadership of the APC. Saraki had reportedly queried Mohammed on why he decided to fire up a petition to embarrass him and create a semblance of crisis when he (Mohammed) could have walked up to him (Saraki) if he had any grievance over the conduct of the congress in his local government.
In a response that reportedly drew the attention of passersby, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was said to have flared up and told Sen. Saraki to his face that he did not orchestrate any such petition; that he only got to know of it when as a national leader of the APC from Kwara state, a copy of the petition was copied to him by the petitioners. This medium learnt that Alhaji Mohammed, in support of his innocence, argued that he was in far away US when the petition was written.
Although E-Kwara can confirm that as at the time the petition was written, the embattled APC Publicity Secretary was in Washington D.C at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) alongside other Nigerian state leaders, we could not however independently confirm if he was truly the brain behind the controversial petition.
However, a dependable source within the APC circle informed E-Kwara that Alhaji Mohammed might have in fact given the ‘moral impetus’ for the petition. The source, a former aide of Alhaji Mohammed, said that it is not unlikely that his former boss encouraged ‘his boys’ to write the petition to express their grievances over the congress outcome.
“Anybody that has had any close shave with Alhaji Mohammed would know that he is chameleonic. He looks so nice in the outside but he is deadly and full of mischief in the inside. Apart from the fact that he stifles the growth of his aides, he also has an overrated assessment of himself. With a single call to one of his close boys, especially a few words with Williams Adeyeye (Alhaji Mohammed’s notorious Personal Assistant), the job is as good as done!” our source said
Continuing, our source said that it is not conceivable that a petition would be written in respect of Alhaji Mohammed’s Irepodun local government without him having a prior knowledge and given a subtle approval thereof.
Meanwhile, in the copy of the strongly worded petition dated 12th April, 2014 but received at the APC national secretariat on the 14th April, 2014, the petitioners, Alhaji Lamidi Sanni Okiki and Alhaji Shaaba Mohammed Umar, both former A.C.N Caretaker Chairmen from Ilorin East and Pategi Local Government Areas respectively and die-hard loyalists of the APC national image-maker, had alleged a grand plan by Sen. Saraki and his supporters in the state to ‘frustrate large number of old A.C.N out of the party.” They further said that the party’s state leader, “using members of the State Executive council, Local Government Council Chairmen and other political office holders are foisting unacceptable formula that promote (sic) inequitable distribution of party positions.”
If this allegation is true, it therefore serves to confirm E-Kwara earlier exclusive report that Mr. Saraki ordered that ‘juicy’ party positions be reserved exclusively for his loyalists in the former PDP, to the exclusion and detriment of original members of the party.
Although the widely travelled report was greeted with pockets of denials, and this newspaper insulted by both the APC leadership in the state and their sponsored agents online, the unraveling scenario has put a lie to the bare-faced denial. Please click HERE to read our previous report on the crisis.
The extant petition, which was also co-signed by, Mr. Olu Ajisafe and Mrs. Tolani, both former ACN Caretaker Secretary and Women Leader from Ifelodun and Irepodun respectively, further revealed that: “The events that led to the inconclusiveness of the ward congress in Oro ward II were clear acts of sabotage and grand conspiracy between the state interim executive and leadership of nPDP in Oro ward 11 to rig out legacy members who are in clear majority. The most culpable amongst those aforementioned forces is State Interim Secretary, Prince Yemi Afolayan.”
The petitioners further alleged that in Alhaji Mohammed’s ward of Oro II, there were glaring cases of irregularities and ‘conspiracies’.
“Oro ward 11 having failed to reach consensus on the sharing formula to be adopted in distributing party positions on the day of ward congress (April 5,2014) resolved to reschedule its congress for Monday 7th April, 2014. Prior to the rescheduled date for elective congress in Oro ward 11, there were telephone calls from members of the ward to the Chairman and Local Government caretaker executive of the defunct ACN, Mr Dogo and Cyril Agbara respectively, a day preceding the date of the rescheduled congress that Otunba Bode Oyedepo (aka De way) was issuing fresh registration slips to unknown people at his residence. Ordinarily, one would think it was impossible, giving the control measure adopted by the national leadership to safeguard fraudulent diversion of registration materials by party leaders. But at the same time we decided to alert the state congress committee chairman about the development via text message.
“When the nPDP leaders in Oro ward 11 failed to fraudulently rig out our bonafide members, Bode D way asked one Tunde Sandiku to bring out a gun from his car, which he did in the full glare of everyone present. The pandemonium that ensued led to an indefinite suspension of the congress by the SCC chairman.”
“Some of the pertinent questions to ask in unraveling the source of the fake membership registration being issued to hoodlums imported to Oro town includes among others:
(a) How could Mr. Oyedepo (De Way) get access to unused APC membership registration slips without the active connivance of state interim chairman and secretary?
(b) What role did the political office holders from Irepodun that held a meeting before the congress played in mobilizing funds which Bode D way used for the shameful act?
(c) What is the interest of the state interim secretary in Oro ward 11 congress and what does he wants to achieve by encouraging Oyedepo to do all that was possible at ensuring that the nPDP retain chairmanship of the ward when the nPDP don’t have the number and popularity to win any contest in the ward?
(d) Is it true that the Party leader H.E Sen Bukola Saraki actually gave directive to Interim State Chairman that all key positions be reserved for nPDP members of APC?
(e.) Why did the State Interim Executives, leader of the party and State Congress Committee allow Oro Ward 11 to participate in the local government congress held at Omuaran, the capital of Irepodun LG since the congress of Oro ward II was declared inconclusive by the Chairman of SCC?.
(f) Under what arrangement did Samson Bada, emerged as the Youth Leader and another member of the ward awarded position at the local government congress held at Omuaran on the 12th April when the congress in Oro ward II was inconclusive?”
“It is also disheartening that list of delegates to the national convention was said to have been prepared by the leader, H.E Dr. Bukola Saraki which was either read at the local government congress venue or not mentioned at all in other LGAs. The list of delegates to the national convention according to the courier reflects the wish of the leader.
We are however astonished to hear that delegates to the national convention was prepared by the leader and sent to LGAs barely 12 hours after the same leader engaged members of the legacy parties in a meeting where he said he never gave the obnoxious and destructive or had any pre congress list of party executives and delegates.”
“We members of the legacy parties in the state have resolved to first amongst other things register our disapproval of the retrogressive order of the State Interim Executives of our party and wish to respectfully draw your attention the reign of injustice perpetuated at ward and local government congresses with a view to redressing flagrant violation of congress guidelines in Kwara APC. We are the foundation members of APC. Other members that left en mass did so on account of the domineering tendencies of nPDP. As for us we shall be intimidated but will remain within the party to fight for inalienable rights. Concerted efforts of all is what we believe is required to secure victory at the polls come 2015.
While looking up and count on your fatherly intervention at redressing the precarious situation our members have foundthemselves, we plead with you to wade in and facilitate amicable resolution of the crisis brewing within Kwara APC. As far as we are concerned no congress was ever held in Kwara State. The ward congresses and local government congresses fell short of being fair, equitable and justifiable. We implore you once again sir, to save the party from the imminent collapse in Kwara State.”
Alhaji Sulyman Buhari: APC PRO says petition is ‘fake’
Meanwhile, when contacted, the APC Interim Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Suleiman Buhari said that the petition is not ‘authentic’.
In an emailed response to E-kwara.com yesterday, Alhaji Buhari said that he is though aware of the petition but that it was a ‘forged letter’ and that the purported signatories of the letter had denied appending their signatures on it. He however neither confirmed whether his party had responded or not to the said petition.
Source: Daily Times