Group wants senator recalled for kneeling before Saraki

Members of the Kwara South Unity Forum in Kwara State have
initiated a recall process against the senator representing the
Kwara South Senatorial District, Dr. Rafiu Ibrahim.

According to a photocopy of the acknowledged copy of the
petition, made available to journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State
capital, on Sunday, the petition had been sent to the Independent
National Electoral Commission and the office of the President of
the Senate.

The letter, dated November 13, was received and acknowledged at
INEC on November 14 and the office of the President of the Senate
on November 17.

The public notification of the recall process however did not
come without a drama.

While the group was about addressing journalists at Ofa on the
recall process, hoodlums and thugs stormed the venue and disrupted
the media briefing.

The General Secretary of the Kwara South Unity Forum, Mr. Ahmed
Akorede, alleged that the invaders also made away with some
valuables, adding that members of the group had been receiving
threat messages, for discharging their “human right and
constitutional” responsibility.

The President of the group, Mr. John Adegboye, while addressing
journalists during a media briefing at Ijagbo in the Oyun Local
Government Area of Kwara State, alleged poor representation by
Ibrahim.

He also accused Ibrahim of disregarding members and elders of
the senatorial district while taking directives from external
personalities.

He further alleged that issues, critical to the growth and
development of Kwara South, were allegedly being openly disregarded
and dismissed by the senator.

Adegboroye also accused Ibrahim of abusing their democratic
rights and intelligence and was not sufficiently addressing human
capital development in the area.

He stated, “A situation whereby, a man we voted for, now comes
out openly and with audacity, to state that he needs to consult
‘his boss’, who isn’t even from Kwara South, is nothing but a
violation of our human and democratic rights.”

Adegboye said it was wrong for Ibrahim to kneel before the
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

According to him, the Senate is a gathering of equals while the
President of the Senate is simply the first among equals.

He said, “We find it demeaning, insulting and outrageous that
our senator acted as an escort and body guard to the wife of the
Senate President when she was arraigned in court on charges of
money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.

“This unnecessary show of subservience has been interpreted to
imply a situation in which we are not the people in control of our
destinies. We cannot accept this anymore.

“It is therefore under these circumstances that the good people
of Kwara South today decide to intimate the generality of Nigerians
about our intention to recall Senator Rafiu Ibrahim from the 8th
National Assembly.

“We affirm that the Kwara South Unity Forum has instituted
recall proceedings against the senator representing Kwara South
Senatorial District. The days of ‘shadow democracy and indirect
rule,’ whereby a few individuals become more important than the
entire electorate, are over.”

But a coalition of students, during another media briefing,
passed a vote of confidence in Ibrahim.

The coalition comprise the National Association of Nigerian
Students, Kwara State branch, and the National Association of Kwara
State Students.

The students’ speech was jointly signed by the Chairman, NANS,
Kwara, Abdulkadir Aliyu; President, NAKSS, Abdulafeez Oyedepo; and
Director of Travelling and Exchange, NANS, Abdullahi Olawale.

Aliyu, who read the speech, said Ibrahim had made tremendous
contributions towards infrastructural and human capital development
in Kwara South.

He said, “Ibrahim’s unblemished reputation, leadership sagacity,
hospitality, open door policy, philanthropic gesture, kind
heartedness, ‘articulacy’, listening ears and most importantly, his
integrity, have given us hope that with his kind, there is great
hope for the Nigerian students.”

A stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress, led by Kazeem
Adekanye, during the media briefing, urged the senator and the
proponent of his recall to embrace dialogue.

Adekanye, a former Chairman, Transition Implementation
Committee, Irepodun LGA, said there was unity in the party.

He said, “For some of us, we believe that we have leaders that
we respect. Yes, we may have one or two things that may not be okay
with us, we should employ better means of engaging them so as for
us all to reap the benefits of democracy.

“We all know that as senators, their primary job is to
legislate; the other aspect has to do with constituency project. I
am aware he has brought a lot of constituency projects to Kwara
South. He has also been reaching out to people as individuals and I
am sure he has reached out to traditional rulers.

“We in Kwara South, we are under one leadership of Dr. Bukola
Saraki. All of us, who are his disciples and followers, are united
under that banner. There are no internal crises; there is no war
between us.”

Members of the Kwara South Unity Forum in Kwara State have
initiated a recall process against the senator representing the
Kwara South Senatorial District, Dr. Rafiu Ibrahim.

According to a photocopy of the acknowledged copy of the
petition, made available to journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State
capital, on Sunday, the petition had been sent to the Independent
National Electoral Commission and the office of the President of
the Senate.

The letter, dated November 13, was received and acknowledged at
INEC on November 14 and the office of the President of the Senate
on November 17.

The public notification of the recall process however did not
come without a drama.

While the group was about addressing journalists at Ofa on the
recall process, hoodlums and thugs stormed the venue and disrupted
the media briefing.

The General Secretary of the Kwara South Unity Forum, Mr. Ahmed
Akorede, alleged that the invaders also made away with some
valuables, adding that members of the group had been receiving
threat messages, for discharging their “human right and
constitutional” responsibility.

The President of the group, Mr. John Adegboye, while addressing
journalists during a media briefing at Ijagbo in the Oyun Local
Government Area of Kwara State, alleged poor representation by
Ibrahim.

He also accused Ibrahim of disregarding members and elders of
the senatorial district while taking directives from external
personalities.

He further alleged that issues, critical to the growth and
development of Kwara South, were allegedly being openly disregarded
and dismissed by the senator.

Adegboroye also accused Ibrahim of abusing their democratic
rights and intelligence and was not sufficiently addressing human
capital development in the area.

He stated, “A situation whereby, a man we voted for, now comes
out openly and with audacity, to state that he needs to consult
‘his boss’, who isn’t even from Kwara South, is nothing but a
violation of our human and democratic rights.”

Adegboye said it was wrong for Ibrahim to kneel before the
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

According to him, the Senate is a gathering of equals while the
President of the Senate is simply the first among equals.

He said, “We find it demeaning, insulting and outrageous that
our senator acted as an escort and body guard to the wife of the
Senate President when she was arraigned in court on charges of
money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.

“This unnecessary show of subservience has been interpreted to
imply a situation in which we are not the people in control of our
destinies. We cannot accept this anymore.

“It is therefore under these circumstances that the good people
of Kwara South today decide to intimate the generality of Nigerians
about our intention to recall Senator Rafiu Ibrahim from the 8th
National Assembly.

“We affirm that the Kwara South Unity Forum has instituted
recall proceedings against the senator representing Kwara South
Senatorial District. The days of ‘shadow democracy and indirect
rule,’ whereby a few individuals become more important than the
entire electorate, are over.”

But a coalition of students, during another media briefing,
passed a vote of confidence in Ibrahim.

The coalition comprise the National Association of Nigerian
Students, Kwara State branch, and the National Association of Kwara
State Students.

The students’ speech was jointly signed by the Chairman, NANS,
Kwara, Abdulkadir Aliyu; President, NAKSS, Abdulafeez Oyedepo; and
Director of Travelling and Exchange, NANS, Abdullahi Olawale.

Aliyu, who read the speech, said Ibrahim had made tremendous
contributions towards infrastructural and human capital development
in Kwara South.

He said, “Ibrahim’s unblemished reputation, leadership sagacity,
hospitality, open door policy, philanthropic gesture, kind
heartedness, ‘articulacy’, listening ears and most importantly, his
integrity, have given us hope that with his kind, there is great
hope for the Nigerian students.”

A stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress, led by Kazeem
Adekanye, during the media briefing, urged the senator and the
proponent of his recall to embrace dialogue.

Adekanye, a former Chairman, Transition Implementation
Committee, Irepodun LGA, said there was unity in the party.

He said, “For some of us, we believe that we have leaders that
we respect. Yes, we may have one or two things that may not be okay
with us, we should employ better means of engaging them so as for
us all to reap the benefits of democracy.

“We all know that as senators, their primary job is to
legislate; the other aspect has to do with constituency project. I
am aware he has brought a lot of constituency projects to Kwara
South. He has also been reaching out to people as individuals and I
am sure he has reached out to traditional rulers.

“We in Kwara South, we are under one leadership of Dr. Bukola
Saraki. All of us, who are his disciples and followers, are united
under that banner. There are no internal crises; there is no war
between us.”