Despite dissolving his structures into the All Progressives Congress in the aftermath of his recent defection, former Kwara State Governor, Senator Bukola Saraki remains the godfather of politics in the state,writes Hammed Shittu

When the marketing team of the All Progressives Congress (APC) visited Ilorin, the Kwara State capital last year to woo the leaders of the then New Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state led by Senator Bukola Saraki, little did the APC members know that the political leadership of the party would remain at the whims of Saraki.

The new PDP had told their visitors led by the Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, that in Kwara, there was an existing political structure that records electoral victory wherever it goes.

Other members of the team were former Head of State, General Muhammad Buhari; former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Senate Minority Leader and former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, Interim National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Muhammed; former speaker of House of Representatives and Hon. Bello Masari, among others.

At the meeting, former chairman of PDP in the state and now APC chieftain, Alhaji Isola Balogun-Fulani told the APC leaders that, "What we have in Kwara is Saraki and not party because there had been existing political structure for the past 40 years and the structure had been winning elections since the period."

Fulani stated further that, "The structure had installed past governors, members of the National Assembly, state House of Assembly members, local government council chairmen and other political office holders among others." He posited that, "If at all the members of the new PDP would join the APC, it is the same structure that would be taken to the APC and would take over the political leadership of APC."

However, when finally the new PDP members and five governors of the party including Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State formally dumped the PDP for APC last year in Abuja, members of the existing APC in the five states including Kwara moved against the coming in of the former members of the new PDP led by Senator Bukola Saraki into the party. Besides, they vowed to resist any move to transfer the political leadership of APC in the state to him.

Consequently, a faction of the APC was hurriedly formed in the state. The faction which according to THISDAY checks was said to have the sympathy of a former governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (APC) in the 2011 governorship election in the state, Mr. Muhammed Dele Belgore (SAN) was put in place.

The faction had put in place an interim state executive council of the APC, led by a former House of Representatives candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) from isin/Irepodun/ Oke-Ero federal constituency in the state, Hon. Bunmi Olusonna.

To put it succinctly, Begore, the governorship candidate of the ACN in last general election had not found it comfortable continuing his stay in APC with Saraki as the new leader of the party.

At a press conference held at the factional secretariat located along Asa Dam road, Ilorin last year, Olusonna told journalists that, "We are the authentic members of APC in Kwara and having inaugurated this state executive, it is not an illegal thing.

"Our position is that we are not aware that the national leadership of our party has ceded control of the party structure in Kwara State to Senator Bukola Saraki. Our position, even when APC leaders were talking with the then G-7, was and remains that we in Kwara APC cannot allow the party structure to be handed over to Saraki, and we backed our position with verifiable reasons. This is not about ego or not wanting to accommodate new entrants. It is about the nature of our struggle as a people in Kwara.

"We therefore await the national leadership of our party, APC, to come out and tell the world that it has indeed ceded control of the party structure to Saraki. We are honourable people who stand by our struggle and resolve to not watch anymore while anyone claims 'divine' right to determine the future of our people."

Shortly after the press conference, another faction and this time around from the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) defunct ANPP and APGA in the state held a press conference where they denounced the press conference addressed by the defunct members of ACN saying that, "the APC has no state executive council of the party for now and nobody can lay claim to it."

The spokespersons of the group, Alhaji Taiwo Eleja, Alhaji Suleiman Buhari, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Taiwo, Mr. Kayode Olawepo and two members of the state House of Assembly under the banner of the APC, Hon. Tope Olayonu and Hon. Hassan Oyeleke said, "We pledge the full cooperation of the existing APC members in Kwara State with our new friends from the PDP. We assure them that the APC house is big enough to accommodate everyone, especially those who believe in our party's tripod ideologies of justice, equity and economic prosperity for the good people of Nigeria.

"We particularly recognise the preeminence of his Excellency, the Governor of the state, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed, Senator Bukola Saraki and all other stakeholders of thought in the state. We note with delight, their doggedness in fighting injustice in their former party and their commitment to the Nigerian ideals. We are convinced beyond doubt that these leadership qualities, among others, are in tandem with the vision and aspirations of the founding fathers of the APC.

"Since the much awaited merger between the APC and the PDP has been successfully consummated, we shall now settle down for the onerous task of putting the party structure in proper shape across the local government areas, wards and polling units in the state to consolidate the gains already recorded so far. There shall be an immediate commencement of membership registration drive for the party, especially in view of the forthcoming party membership registration exercise."

While this was on, they noted that, "The party shall also embark on an aggressive mobilisation and sensitisation of the electorate, down to the grassroots, not only on the ideals of our party but also on the need for all hands to be on deck for this final rescue voyage.

"We commend the effort of the national leadership of our great party for taking concrete steps at forging a broad-based coalition aimed at rescuing the country from the brinks of collapse and hopelessness."

Following this crisis, the national leadership of the party has since set up a reconciliation committee headed by the former governor of Edo state, Chief John Oyegun to resolve the matter so as to assist the party to forge ahead.

But, a former commissioner for Information in the state and now a chieftain of APC, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, said the political leadership of Sarakis is incontrovertible considering his political structure that had been built for past forty years ago.

"This structure has installed many governments till date so if the political structure is ceded to Senator Saraki by the APC leadership, it is not a waste because the structure can deliver any time any day and it is not about political party."

Adedoyin, therefore, appealed to the aggrieved persons on the handing over of the structure to Saraki and join hands with him in the collective bid to move the state forward.

Although it is not unexpected that there would be crisis, not only in Kwara, but other states where the merger and defection had taken roots, the truth is that the structure in Kwara, according to observers, cannot be handled better by anyone else other than Saraki, even those who have greater stakes in the party recognize this fact.

Thus, whether it is PDP or APC, Saraki beyond riding on the strength of his late father, Dr. Olusola Saraki, has become a man of his own and leveraged every opening to give the state the current standing in the federation. In one line, he remains the godfather of Kwara State politics, regardless of misgivings from whatever quarters.