2012-11-19

The Goodness of Dr. Olusola Saraki, By Femi Fani-Kayode
Like everyone else in the country, I was informed about the death of the Waziri of Ilorin, Dr. Olusola Saraki, on Thursday morning that he passed on and the news saddened me immensely. This is because he was one of the...

Unilorin to Have an Amusement Park Soon
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali has assured investors across the globe that any investment in the University would be worth the while. He stated this at his residence whil...

Kwara's Young Talent Nominated for 3 Awards at Nigeria Radio Awards
One of Kwara state's young talent in the broadcast industry Abdulgaffar Arikewuyo has been nominated in three categories at the first edition of the Nigeria Radio Award 2012. Abdulgaffar was nominated in Ca...

Utomi, Adeyemi, Others Extol Dr Saraki
Tributes have been pouring in for Second Republic Senate Leader Dr Olusola Saraki who died on Wednesday in Lagos, aged 79. The Deputy Governor of Kogi, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, described the death as "painful"...

1,747 Kwara Pilgrims Arrive Home
A total of 1 747 pilgrims from Kwara have so far returned home after performing the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. A total of 2 486 pilgrims from the state went on pilgrimage. The Permanent Secretary, General Se...

Councillorship Poll: ACN to Appeal Kwara Tribunal Ruling
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has rejected the Kwara election tribunal ruling which nullified the election of the 11 councillors elected on the platform of the opposition party. The tribunal sacked t...

FG is Selective in Corruption Fight - Zakari Mohammed
The chairman, House of Representatives committee on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed, yesterday accused President Goodluck Jonathan's administration of being selective in its approach to tackling corruption....

NUBIFIE to Shut Down Banks over Sack of 1,000 Members
Members of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, (NUBIFIE) are set to embark on total showdown in the sector to protect their jobs. President of NUBIFIE, Danjuma Musa who...

Saraki Not Buried in Coffin - Cleric
The controversies surrounding the burial of the Second Republic Senate leader, Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki, were yesterday laid to rest. A renowned Islamic cleric and family friend of the Sarakis, Sheikh Sulaima...

Sambo, Obasanjo, Dangote Others Grace Saraki's Fidau
Vice President Namadi Sambo; a former President of Nigeria; Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and billionnare businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, were among the dignitaries that on Sunday attended the Fidau for former Senate Lea...

We'll Continue Where Saraki Stopped - Bukola Saraki
The scion of Saraki dynasty, Senator Bukola Saraki, has assured the people of Kwara State that the family of the late politician, Chief Olusola Saraki, will continue from where he left off in the spheres of philanthrop...

2012-11-18

Kwara now leaderless - Olola Kasumu
National Life President, Afonja Descendant Union (ADU), Alhaji Abdulkarim Olola Kasum, who is a 1965 graduate of Kwame Nkrumah School of Political Science, Wuneta, Ghana, in this interview with LAYI OLANREWAJU, speaks ...

Saraki: Era Ends for Colossus of Kwara Politics
Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki will forever be a name that will be difficult to evade while writing the political history of Kwara State. He would have loved to celebrate his 80th birthday come May 2013 but the cold hand...

Orji, Daniel, Igbinedion Mourn Eso, Saraki
The former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has described the demise of retired Justice Kayode Eso as the exit of one of the shaping forces of the country's judiciary, saying the departed Supreme Court Jus...

Saraki: The End of an Era, and the Beginning of Another
Hammed Shittu, in Ilorin, looks at the political exploits of the late Olusola Saraki and the burden of inheritance on the back of his son, Bukola An end has surely come to an era in Kwara poli...

2012-11-17

Ilorin: Seven OPC Members Jailed
Senior Magistrate Mohammed Ibrahim ordered the remand in police custody of seven suspected members of the Oodua People's Congress till the 27th of next month for further hearing on their application for bail. The su...

I'll Miss My Father Wallahi! - Gbemisola Saraki
Senator Gbemisoal Saraki, the eldest daughter of the late Second Republic Senate leader, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, yesterday said life would be hard for her without her father whom she described as a "wonderf...

Ciroma, Gbenga Daniel commiserate with Sarakis
Former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Northern Political Forum, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, yesterday led members of his group to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital to pay condolence visit to the family of the late Wa...

Tribunal nullifies Offa LG councillorship election
The Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal in Ilorin ,the Kwara State capital north central Nigeria has nullified eleven-councillorship election out of the twelve wards in Offa Local Government held on the 12th of ...

How my dad battled cancer for 5 years - Saraki's son
Facts emerged yesterday that the late strongman of Kwara politics and Second Republic Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki, had, for the past five years, been battling with cancer, a disease which eventually snuffed lif...

Mourning the 'Great Son of Agbaji'
The search for the root of the late strong man of Kwara politics and second republic Senate leader, Olusola Saraki who died on Wednesday takes HAMMED SHITTU to Agbaji compound in Ilorin ...

The Other Side of Oloye Saraki
Tunde Oyekola, who had monitored the activities of the political titan, Dr. Olusola Saraki that died on Wednesday in Lagos, tells some untold stories about the man. Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki was not like the ...

Life in Ilorin After Saraki's Death
Since Wednesday, November 14, 2012 when the Second Republic senate leader and kingmaker of Kwara politics, Alhaji Olusola Saraki, passed on, his Iloffa road, Government Reserved Area (GRA) residence in Ilorin, the Kwar...

Can Bukola Saraki Wear His Father's Shoes?
THE kernel of thoughts in the mind of Dr. Bukola Saraki, the heir apparent to the Ilorin born maverick politician, Dr. Olusola Saraki, would not be radically different from how to cope with the politics of Kwara State,...

2012-11-16

A Family and Its Three Senators
If the late Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki was not a Muslim who had to be buried within 24 hours of his death, the Senate would have held a special session to mark his contributions to the evolution of the legislature. He...

Eulogies Pour in for Saraki
Olusola Saraki, the strongman of Kwara politics, died on Wednesday at 79. His political allies, friends, family and foes had nice words for him. Presdent Goodluck Jonathan ...

Saraki Bank, SGBN, to Return as Heritage Bank
While the Saraki's mourn the death of their patriarch, Olusola Saraki, authorities say a bank, believed to be largely owned by them, Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria, SGBN, whose operational license was revoked by the ...

How Buhari's Coup Saved Me - Saraki
Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, elder statesman and strongman of Kwara State politics, died yesterday at his Ikoyi, Lagos, residence at the age of 79. He was 76, when he had this no-holds-barred interview in July, 2009, w...

How Saraki Prepared for Death •Bequeathed Properties to Aides, Needy 3 Months Before Now
The Generalissimo of Kwara politics, Dr Olusola Saraki, fondly called Oloye, had long foreseen his death and had prepared well ahead for it, given the scenarios that played out some weeks before he passed on. ...

Opinion: Gov. Ahmed, come to our aid in Isapa, Kwara State
I am using this medium to draw the attention of the Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, to the problems the indigenes of Isapa in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State are currently facing. Lac...

FG and Kwara State Government to Join Hands on Water Supply
The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe has called for closer collaboration between the three tiers of government in the provision of water to the teeming Nigerian population. Speaking at the o...

Constitution Review: Echoes From Kwara's Public Session
Last week Saturday, the people of Kwara state gathered at their different constituencies to exchange views on issues they want considered during the review of the 1999 constitution. UMAR BAYO ABDULWAHAB put...

"Ex-Senate Leader Contributed to Nigeria's Political Emancipation" - Rotimi Abiru
The Deputy Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru, has joined millions of Nigerians in mourning the death of the Second Republic Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki, who died in Lagos on Wednesday morn...

Saraki a Political Icon, Says Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman
The Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, has described the late strongman of Kwara politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, as a political icon who contributed to the devel...

Babangida: I Learnt Political Notes from Olusola Saraki
A former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, yesterday described former Senate Leader Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki as a refined politician from whom he learnt a "few political notes". Also, a f...

Saraki: His Death is End of Era in Kwara, Says Ngige
Former Anambra State governor, Senator Chris Ngige, has expressed shock on the death of the former Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki. He described his death as the end of a glorious era in Kwara and northern Ni...

KWARA: After Oloye, What?
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Demola Akinyemi Senator Olusola Saraki who died of complications due to cancer built a strong political machine that was arguably unmatched in dexterity and delivery....

Governors, Patience, Tinubu Mourn Saraki
Serving and former governors have expressed their regret over the death of Second Republic Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki. Also, Patience, wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, joined them in mourning the P...

Afonja Warriors Set Lofty Goal
Kwara United attacking midfielder, Bala Zakkah has said his side will not miss the league shield in the coming 2012/2013 league season. The Afonja Warriors headed back to their llorin base on Thursday after a t...

Fuel Tanker Crashes into Pole in Jebba
A fuel tanker on Thursday crashed into an electricity pole in Jebba town in Kwara State, causing a stampede. The crash was reported by the Federal Road Safety Commission said in a Facebook post. It stat...

Saraki Died Exactly 6 Years After Lawal
Unknown to many, the death of Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki came exactly six years after the demise of his godson and former Kwara State governor, Rear Admiral Mohammed Alabi Lawal (retd). Lawal, it will be recall...

OPINION: Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki: A Synopsis of His Politics and Public Life. By Oba Abdulkadir La'aro
The death of Dr Abubakar Saraki marks an important era in Kwara nay Nigerian political terrain. Here Laaro attempts a synopsis Saraki’s rise in politics that led to what some have referred to as hegemony. And...