The choice of those that would make up the new cabinet of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has taken the front burner in the state's chapter of the All Progressives Congress.

After the successful outing of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded general election in Kwara State, the leadership of the party has returned to a drawing board so as to fashion out the way on how to appoint members of the party that contributed immensely towards the success of the elections in their respective 193 wards that make up the state. This, the leadership of the party believes, would go a long way in setting a new and positive agenda for the state executive council and party.

Since his swearing-in on May 29, for a second term, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed is yet to constitute the state executive council, a situation that, as gathered in some quarters, has continued to give some members of the party in the state a source for concern in view of their contributions towards the success of his election and other elective positions won by all the candidates of the APC in the last elections. Though the financial crisis of the state, which also extends to other states of the federation, has been cited partly as responsible for the delay in the composition of the state executive council, the excuse does not seem to suffice in the eyes of the party members. Yet, the excuse, others reckon is expedient in the face of the challenges a majority of the states confront.

Leader of the party and President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki has not totally hidden his position on the fact that those that would be appointed into various political offices in the state would be of proven character, and more importantly, those that worked day and night across the three senatorial districts of the state to see to the electoral victory of the party from ward, local, state and federal levels. In addition, Saraki is said to have hinged the choice of any member of the party for the political positions to total loyalty and commitment of such members to the leadership of the party in the state so as to enable such appointees to be more committed towards the success of the administration in the state especially in the delivery of dividends of democracy to the rural populace. Sources close to the Senate President however hinted that the choice of those who would make-up the new team is entirely the governor's, Saraki can only guide. This, of course, is because the national assignment which presently preoccupies Saraki may have been partly responsible for the disposition. But Ahmed, who is fully in-charge of the nominations of choice candidates, is believed to be giving day-to-day feedback to the political leader in the state about the situations report.

In line with this development, however, the leadership of the party recently asked members of the party to nominate commissioners and Special Advisers, who can work with the Ahmed-led administration in the quest to deliver on the shared prosperity agenda of the party and government. The party, in the guidelines for nomination released in Ilorin, and signed by the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, said its members would nominate three candidates from each of the 16 LGAs of the state.

The statement said out of the three nominees per LGA, there must be at least a female and a youth, adding also that the LGAs are advised to ensure fairness and equity in the nomination process so that all areas within the LGAs are adequately and fairly taken care of. In the nomination of potential Commissioners and Special Advisers, according to the statement, the LGAs are advised to consider loyalty, experience, education, competence and integrity. In the same light, the leadership of APC in Kwara State has called for nominations into the LGA caucus of the party. Six candidates are expected to be nominated from each LGA, out of which four will be selected and inaugurated into the APC LGA caucus. But the nomination of commissioners and special advisers by party members across the 16 local government councils has brought disquiet to the ranks of the APC in the state, creating camps and factions in the three senatorial districts of the state as party chieftains tend to outsmart one another in their bid to become commissioners and Special Advisers.

THISDAY Checks revealed that most of the local governments have nominated at least five representatives, while Ilorin West local government believed to be the flagship LG has up to nine nominations. Stakeholders in the local government are sharply divided over who is to occupy the two cabinet slots slated to be allotted to the area being the most populated in the state with high concentration of party big wigs and shot callers. Apart from Saraki, who hails from the LG, it also parades other big wigs like Senator Gbemisola Saraki, an APC Board of Trustees member, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, former Minister Bolaji Abdullahi, and a host of others. Gbemisola Saraki is a case in point in the current jostle as concessions are being allegedly made to her group, which defected from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC on the eve of the last elections.

Sources close to the party told THISDAY that the party leadership had committed itself to fully integrating her group into the APC fold through allocating some cabinet slots and other appointments to members of the group. A high ranking member of the party said, "Our leader, Senator Bukola Saraki does not want to be involved because he is busy currently with national assignments and he would only intervene in cases, where compromise could not be reached." Speaking recently with journalists in Ilorin on the development, the State Secretary of the party, Chief Bode Adekanye said the disagreement is normal since it was a case of struggle by those who have contributed to the party, adding however that this doesn't amount to rancour or acrimony in the party. He assured the people that the party would do justice in picking nominees and ensuring that each ward and district is fairly represented in the various appointments.

"The disagreement is expected. You see this is a struggle for survival for those who have contributed to the victory of the party. This struggle informed the directive for nomination. We want to make it spread. We consider wards, districts that have benefited through the previous election for everybody to reap from the dividends," he said. A top chieftain of the APC in the state, who pleaded anonymity told THISDAY that, "I don't think there should be any reason for just any members of the party to be fighting over who emerges as commissioners, Special Advisers, chairmen of boards of parastatals among others in the state because what is on the ground now is too enormous for all of us." According to her, "There is opportunity for members of the party both at the state and federal levels and what I want us to be doing now is to continue to be praying for our leader and Senate President, Senator Saraki and Governor Ahmed so as to assist them to contribute more towards the development of our nation."

The APC chieftain, however, appealed to all the members of the party to be up and doing in the task of looking out for more members from the opposition parties so as to move the party forward in the state. Evidently, the expectations of Kwarans are enormous and it behooves the current administration in the state to buckle up with whatever it has in stock for the people of the state by appointing very good hands that would work with Governor Ahmed and assist the state for more socio-economic development across the board. The areas that urgently require the attention of the government include sound health care delivery, qualitative education, rural development, youth employment, women empowerment and more importantly, the full completion of Ilorin water reticulation project that is expected to bring water to the doorsteps of the people of Kwara since the rainy season is billed end soon.