2019: I have winning formula for APC in Kwara ― Yaman

GOVERNORSHIP aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, Alhaji Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi, has said that he has the winning formula for the opposition party to clinch victory for the State in the 2019 general elections.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Sunday, the APC governorship aspirant said the formula for the party to win 2019 election is to pick its candidate from Kwara North, where he comes from.

Alhaji Yaman, an agriculture entrepreneur, also said that numerical strength of the Kwara North senatorial district when compared with other parts of the State, is capable of giving APC victory at the poll.

“In the last election, the Kwara Central had 41 per cent, the Kwara North is acknowledged to have done 20. By the way, Ilorin should have the highest population as it is the State capital. It is made up of people from all parts of the State and even non-indigenes.

“As it is shown in the voting pattern in the last election that Ilorin had 41 per cent, whether we like it or not Bukola Saraki will take a chunk out of that. Today, go to Kwara North we are almost 95 per cent APC.

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“We are coming together for the first time and our Emirs have announced that the people they represent are all APC. If you take our own 30 per cent which is original. Bukola Saraki will take 50 per cent of the 41 per cent of the Kwara Central leaving about 20.5 per cent. Which reasonable political calculation would pick 20.5 per cent instead of 30 per cent that is assured?” he said.

Yaman, who is confident that APC would pick its governorship candidate from the northern part of the state, said that:

“The PDP short-changed this country for so long using autocratic means in selecting the candidates. This is precisely what APC has come to change.

“APC is a party based on fairness and justice. I can not even dream it that APC will give the slot to Kwara Central,” he added.

Justifying why the North would produce the next governor of the State, he said: “I happen to come from Kwara North and we strongly believe that given the singular reason of giving every part of the state a sense of belonging, should be the one to produce the next governor of the State. And it is simple, Kwara Central has had it for 12 good years. Late Admiral Mohammed Lawal for four years, Bukola Saraki had eight years making a total of 12.

“Now the Kwara South is almost completing its eight years. And it is significant here that one individual is aspiring from the South. It means that there must be a sense of fairness from the people of the South. It must be a sense of justice that is making none of them come out for the governorship seat for 2019 elections.

“Every other part of this State must be given its own due place of recognition. And I say it all the time. How will Kwara Central justify it that they have had it for 12 years? And they will now come and appropriate another eight years that belong to the North, making theirs 20 and on what pedestal will anybody stand to say the northerners should not have. Are we sub-humans or we are not qualified to rule or that we are slaves? In whatever way we look at it, it is unjustifiable.

“Take Nigeria as an instance, Northern Nigeria as it is constituted has got enough numerical strength to keep the presidency of the country in perpetuity. But for every part of the nation a sense of belonging, the north has conceded that it should rotational and it has become a convention.

“The other argument I hear that it is not in the constitution that we must rotate. There are even constitutions that are not written. The British Constitution is just a Charter. It is not written.

“The foundation for peace is justice. In this stage, we believe what is just is just and what is fair is fair. It is the turn of the Northerner Kwara to produce the Governor. Anybody giving any other story is saying it on the selfish stand.

“This is the story they bandied in 2011. They told us that if we want to defeat Bukola Saraki, we must field an Ilorin man. Dele Belgore was presented, he did not win. Abdulfatah Ahmed from Kwara south won. So why are they giving us the same soup that we tasted yesterday that was bitter today again? Either way, it is wrong, it is immoral and unjustifiable for the Central to even attempt after all they claim to be our brothers.”