Former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Saturday lauded the Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its fairness and inclusiveness during the party’s state congress.
Speaking in Ilorin, the state capital, on the peaceful conduct of the state congress, Saraki said its outcome underscored the party’s capacity to provide a credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
He said: “The PDP has once again shown that it is the party that provides a level playing field and prioritises the will of the people.”
Saraki stated, “In PDP, the INEC officials can see that we are very mature and peaceful. I am very sure that in other parties’ congresses, you will need security because they are not coordinated and may end up throwing chairs, as they usually do.
“The maturity displayed in Kwara State congresses is a reflection of the national character of our great party,” Saraki added.
He further applauded the peaceful conduct of the party’s congresses from the ward level, through the local government, culminating in the state congress.
The former Senate president noted that the exercise was a testament to PDP’s internal democracy and readiness to return good governance to the people.
Beyond party politics, the former governor of Kwara State also used the occasion to decry the spate of insecurity across the state.
According to him, “over 70 people had been killed, 52 others injured, and 40 kidnapped in the last six months, a development he blamed on the alleged incompetence of the present administration”.
Saraki said, “We will not keep quiet because the present government in Kwara State has failed to provide security for our people because of their incompetence.
“We will continue to speak out because security is everyone’s business. We cannot just look on and allow the present leadership in Kwara State to ruin the state due to their ineptitude.
“Opposition is not your problem; face what you’re elected to do and secure the lives and property of Kwarans,” Saraki said.
Kwara State has, in recent months, recorded a surge in attacks by armed groups, particularly in parts of Kwara North, where communities have been raided and travellers abducted.
Hammed Shittu
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