…As HoR Aspirant, Fadiran Empowers 400 Constituents The Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, Bola Oyebamiji has received over five hundred defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party in his local government area, Irewole. Receiving the new party members on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, Oyebamiji said it is a boost to the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its chairmanship candidates, in the forthcoming local government election in the State. Mr. Oyebamiji received the new members during the distribution of Ileri oluwa relief package, organised by Engr. Adekunle Kazeem Fadiran, in Ikire, to celebrate the Nation’s independence. Receiving the defectors mostly from Ward eight of the local government area, Oyebamiji, described their defection as the best independence day gift the party could ever get on an auspicious day, when the nation was marking its independence. Oyebamiji who was supported by Engr. Fadiran, and other party leaders, stated that the party has become the beautiful pride of Osun people, due to the unsatisfactory performance recorded by the present administration under Governor Ademola Adeleke. He affirmed that “Ikire is an APC stronghold and the empowerment programme by Mr. Fadiran, as well as our formidable team of leaders in the party, has become an attraction to well-meaning citizens and residents of the State.”

Oyebamiji urged the new members to join hands with other party faithful to harvest those remaining in their former parties to vote for APC in forthcoming elections, so as to attract the needed development to the council area. During the event, House of Representatives aspirant, Mr. Kazeem Fadiran, donated relief funds to over 400 members of the constituency. Fadiran, a registered member of the Council of the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, aspires to represent Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan federal constituency at the House of Representatives, in 2027.

He pledged his unflinching support for the less privileged in Ikire, Apomu and Ikoyi, including those in the remote areas. Speaking at the event, Fadiran said, “This is my widow’s mite to some of the residents in my constituency. As time goes on, I will reach out to more people in my constituency. This is not the first, and it will not be the last, by God’s grace”, he said. Apart from the cash gifts, members of his constituency also went home with food packs. Speaking on behalf of the defectors, former PDP leaders of Ward 8, Aderogbin Wakeel, Abeeb Sheriff, Jimoh Nuru, Waidi Elubo, Fathi Adekunle, and Adeleke Kaosara described the APC as the only party that would deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun State at large. They promised to deliver the ward to APC, adding that it was the only way to reward Oyebamiji for his good works and visionary leadership. Earlier, the Akire of Ikire, HRM, Olatunde Falabi, gave royal blessings to Mr. Fadiran and his team. He spoke highly of Fadiran, and the role he has played in the development of Ikire town. The event was attended by Fadiran’s political associates, friends and family members.

▪︎Says his record of compulsive, selfish acquisition of public properties is still fresh

Kwara State Government has described as laughable and self-flattery the comments of Senator Bukola Saraki on the outcome of the recent local government elections in the state, which the ruling All Progressive Party (APC) convincingly won across the state.

The government said Saraki’s PDP not only fruitlessly tried to frustrate the conduct of the election through the court, but it mobilised urchins and its local collaborators to disrupt the balloting with their shenanigans and hooliganism after seeing that they lacked the credibility or a record of convincing people to vote for them.

“It took the popular will of the people to cast their ballot. The government has done well enough to win the trust of the people, and that was what played out, regardless of the noise from Saraki’s men. It is bewildering that Saraki’s party is confused between floating the narrative that no election took place and claiming a victory from an election it said was never held. That is the lot of a confused, desperate people that Senator Saraki leads,” according to a statement by the Honourable Commissioner for Communications Mrs Bola Olukoju.

“We also find it incredible that Senator Bukola Saraki was talking about people’s welfare. The record of his iron-fist imperialism, which featured non-payment of salary, use of thugs to intimidate people, and high rate of suicides and destitution and other menaces faced by workers is still fresh. In 2016 when things were so tough and various categories of workers were not being paid, Kwarans remembered how Senator Saraki was fighting to buy exotic cars while public funds were also being used to transport people to show solidarity for him in the dock. The same Senator Saraki is notorious for his conversion of public properties for personal use, even as the government he inspired was not paying workers while all their appointees were getting 100% salaries and other perks of office. The government that he struggles so hard to bad-mouth has cleared the years of salary arrears that his lackeys left unpaid.

“As far as people’s welfare is concerned, Saraki lacks the moral standing to talk. He is a bald hairdresser recommending his unfailing hair restorer. He is a snail claiming a championship in a community of horned animals. The world is facing serious economic challenges. Nigerians have not been immune to the same.

“In addition to the efforts of President Tinubu to ease things, not only is the Kwara State Government committed to public welfare, as is evident in its many programmes, it continues to execute different infrastructural projects and social protection programmes that strengthen the purchasing powers of the people. The government is also not denying people their wages while its appointees enjoy the perks of office as the Saraki-inspired government did. We urge Senator Saraki to reflect on his legacies of impoverishing people and organising questionable philanthropic feasts to throw morsels at the same people during which hundreds died.”

The Kwara State Local Government elections held across the state’s 16 Local Government Areas and 193 wards have concluded with a decisive victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC). At a press briefing held in Ilorin, the results were announced, with APC emerging victorious in all chairmanship and councilorship races.The Kwara State Electoral Commission confirmed that five political parties—APC, APM, PDP, SDP, and Accord—participated in the elections. The commission expressed gratitude for the peaceful conduct of the elections, which were carried out without any significant disruptions or casualties.In the chairmanship elections, APC secured all 16 Local Government Area seats, while also claiming all 193 councilorship positions. The detailed results from major local governments are as follows:Ifelodun: APC – 22,524, PDP – 2,727, APM – 482Oyun: APC – 12,157, PDP – 356, APM – 387Oke Ero: APC – 7,472, PDP – 1,168, APM – 224Isin: APC – 8,173, PDP – 1,105, APM – 77Edu: APC – 23,963, PDP – 3,851, APM – 424Patigi: APC – 14,119, PDP – 2,937, APM – 806Moro: APC – 14,555, PDP – 1,670, APM – 117Asa: APC – 15,024, PDP – 2,638, APM – 41Ilorin South: APC – 20,207, PDP – 2,072, APM – 226, SDP – 621Baruten: APC – 38,549, PDP – 1,335, APM – 665Ilorin East: APC – 20,883, PDP – 5,383, SDP – 475, APM – 835Kaima: APC – 23,029, PDP – 1,737, APM – 59Ekiti LGA: APC – 8,707, PDP – 907, APM – 966Offa: APC – 1,919, PDP – 1,586, APM – 636, SDP – 391Ilorin West: APC – 50,128, PDP – 4,202, APM – 1,882Irepodun: APC – 14,010, PDP – 2,106, APM – 559, SDP – 239The commission praised the role of security agencies for ensuring a peaceful election process and thanked the people of Kwara State for coming out in large numbers to exercise their democratic rights.With these results, the APC now holds total control of all Local Government leadership positions across the state, further strengthening its political dominance in Kwara.The peaceful conduct of the elections and the overwhelming victory for the APC will likely set the tone for future political contests in the state.