Constituents in the Kwara South senatorial district of Kwara state have described the performances of the immediate past senator in the area, the late Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, as unbeaten.

Speaking on the sideline of the Fidau prayers for the late senator of the Kwara South senatorial district, who died last Thursday after a brief illness, the President General of Orisun Igbomina, Chief Gbenga Awoyale, said that achievements recorded by Senator Ibrahim have continued to reverberate in the minds of the people.

Awoyale said that sentiments had continued to surface within Kwara South political landscape regarding the legacies of the late senator in comparison with the performance of the current and serving Senator in the area, described as ‘below par’,

Senator Lola Ashiru is also a principal officer as the Deputy Senate Leader, one of the highly coveted positions within the National Assembly.

Lamenting the preference for the late senator’s performance over the current holder of the office, the President General of Orisun Igbomina expressed concern at how Kwara South people had been rating the late Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, who served for just four years, over incumbent Sen. Ashiru, who is currently serving a second term of four years at the Nigerian Senate.

Senator Ibrahim served as Kwara South Senator between 2015 and 2019, while Ashiru took over from him in 2019; till date, after the late Ibrahim lost his re-election bid.

“However, people have continued to rate the late Ibrahim’s performance within four years above his successor’s, who has been in the Senate for almost five years now.

“My heartfelt expression comes as a reflection of the sentiments expressed by residents of Kwara South, who seem to hold late Senator Rafiu Ibrahim in high regard for his past performance and contributions to the region”.

He urged the serving senator to take note of the sentiments and work towards enhancing his service delivery to better meet the expectations of his constituents.

“The call for improvement from Senator Ashiru underscores the importance of effective representation and responsive governance in meeting the needs of the people, as constituents continue to evaluate and compare the legacies of past and present senators.

“Yoruba people will say, ‘It is the ineptitude of the living that makes us remember the dead. The death of Senator Ibrahim is a lesson to every politician, especially the incumbent Senator Ashiru, to sit tight so that people can have good things to say about him after he leaves that office because political office is ephemeral,” Awoyale said.

“May God rest the soul of Senator Ibrahim in perfect peace. The unfolding development made some of us sober and challenged us as stakeholders to reflect deeply. Not only PDP members are speaking well about Senator Ibrahim, but not only Kwara South people but people across the state. This is in sharp contrast to the current senator. If Ashiru can’t match Senator Ibrahim’s standard, he should at least stop working below par.”