3rd September, 2021
A faction of Kwara APC loyal to Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq inaugurated 193 ward chairmen elected at its congresses conducted on Aug. 1 on Friday in Ilorin.
A factional chieftain of the party, Kayode Towoju, a legal practitioner administered the oath of office and allegiance on the new ward chairmen.
Speaking at the ceremony, the factional caretaker committee chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Samari, charged the new ward chairmen to work towards achieving unity in the party.
“Please make friends with your people. You are there representing your own individual wards.
“When you get back to your wards, make peace and try to work together with others, who must have in one way or the other vied for this position with you.
“We want unity in our party. We hope as the leaders at the grassroots you would continue to preach and exhibit unity at your respective wards,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Kwara’s deputy governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi, advised the ward chairmen to be loyal to the party and to exhibit love to members in spite of different tendencies.
“There is a time to cry and there is a time to rejoice. Right now you are rejoicing and I thank God for that. There is a time to hate and there is a time to love. Now it is time to show love.
“You just took an oath now to be loyal to the party. Let us remain loyal to the party. As leaders, you must not take sides.
“Remember that everything that is good comes from God. Don’t allow anybody to manipulate you to take care of his interests above that of the party. This is the time to love everybody in your wards,’’ he admonished
The deputy governor also challenged the new ward chairmen to shun politics of bitterness.
“My understanding of politics is to be able to cohabit with the good, bad and the ugly. The more the merrier.
“What I hear in party politics in the state is that ‘that person, this person is not part of us. Don’t let us do politics with him.’ In politics, you can convert your enemies to your friends.
“We should not send people away from the party. Everybody has his own characteristic ways of life.
“I urge you to open your minds to be fathers to everybody in your wards. I am begging you. There is still opposition within and opposition outside.
“The most dangerous people in life are the ones very close to us. And we have some people that are very close to us, who are still with us but they are not with us. They are still in the APC,’’ he added.
Alabi had more advice for the chairmen as he said: “it is very easy to pick information from you and use it to strike against us. Behave like leaders. Don’t go outside here and say that I am now in charge.
“That is not the way leaders behave. I am appealing to you not to cross the line because you now have powers.
“There is a time to fight and a time for peace. This is the time for peace in Kwara APC.
“Your character and behavior in life will determine how far you go as a leader.’’
However, The faction loyal to Information Minister, Lai Mohammed and Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa was yet to react to the development.
The two factions had earlier held their separate ward congresses in July.
They both described it as hugely successful, credible and peaceful.