Kwara ACN, PDP trade words over rerun

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State are trading words ahead of the rerun poll in Offa Local Government.

The Local Government Elections Petition Tribunal about three weeks ago nullified the election of Prince Saheed Popoola of the ACN as the Chairman of the Offa Council.

The party has vowed to appeal the tribunal’s verdict.

A former Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) chieftain, Lola Ashiru, has urged the people of Offa to continue to support the PDP.

The ACN chair in the state, Kayode Olawepo, said: “The people of Offa cannot be spoon-fed by anybody. Mr. Ashiru knows and can testify to this.”

He added: “Ashiru was just playing to the gallery to satisfy his masters. Being an unstable politician, he is definitely not in a position to sway the ever-conscious voters of Offa whose interest begins and ends at ensuring good governance and protection of their collective dignity and liberty as a people. 

“What carrot would Ashiru, now a chieftain of a failed political association called the PDP be dangling to the Offa people?

“Is it that the councils ruled by the PDP are having exceptional development or what? Even pupils can testify to the fact that PDP has been a thorn in the flesh of Nigerians especially in Kwara where lies and deceptions have been elevated as the official policies of the government. We urge the people to ignore Ashiru who comes across as one of Kwara’s most inconsistent politicians of all time.” 

Ashiru, who hails from Offa, was the Kwara South senatorial candidate of the ACPN in the 2011 election.

The politician, in a widely- circulated statement yesterday in Ilorin, said his call for support for PDP was necessary in order to attract more state and federal presence to Offa.

Ashiru, who said it was only through peaceful co-existence that any community could achieve growth, enjoined the people of Offa and Kwarans in general to give peace a chance and avoid lawlessness.

He said the local government elections petition tribunal has ordered for a rerun at Offa and pleaded with the people to respect the rule of law.

He hailed the appointment of an Offa indigene, Alhaji Tajudeen Alabi, as the Special Assistant on Security Matters by the state government, describing it as well deserved.

He lauded Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed for ensuring rapid development of the state and pledged to continue to partner the government and Offa community in carrying the state to greater heights.