It is recalled that the structure had, at various times in the political arrangement of Kwara State, moved from the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ACPN and to the APC in the past, while members of the Saraki political structure claim that they are not really in a political party but a movement, a political family of sort.
It was also reported that the late political leader in 2002, while in the ANPP, instructed members of his structure to move to the PDP, when he was yet to move alongside with them. This, many political observers said, attested to his ability to read the political atmosphere and consolidate his hold on power levers in the state.
In 2015, the Saraki political structure which produced the incumbent APC government in the state, had actually moved from the PDP when Dr. Bukola Saraki, in 2015, led some PDP governors in the country to the APC.
Observers note that the leadership of the Dr Olusola Saraki political dynasty has since been bequeathed to his son, a two-term governor of the state and the current Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, who is said to still have a firm grasp of the structure.
The same scenario, which was witnessed about four years ago, is recently being played out as political happenings in the state point to impending movement of the Saraki political structure from the ruling APC to the Coalition of United Political Party (CUPP).
Few days ago, the three senatorial chairmen of APC in Kwara State called on the Senate President, Dr Saraki, to take them out of the ruling party to another party.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the three senatorial chairmen, Alhaji Jimoh Balogun (Kwara South), Alhaji Jimoh Adesina (Kwara Central) and Alhaji Isiaka Oniwa (Kwara North), said that their political leader should lead the people to where aspirations and yearnings of Kwarans would be met, adding that the ruling APC had failed not only entire people of Kwara state, but beyond.
The spokesperson of the chairmen, Alhaji Jimoh Balogun, said the APC, which they laboured tirelessly for in 2015, had failed to meet their yearnings.
Alhaji Balogun, who said the appeal to the senate president was a warning signal to APC hierarchy to make amends and right some perceived wrongs in the party, added that their expectations had not been met since the advent of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
He added that they were determined to quit APC if the wrongs were not corrected, “even if the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki insists on staying in APC.”
“Now that another election is on the way, Kwara has considered it fit to implore Saraki to take us to a formidable party that would address the plights of the people if the ruling APC refuses to redeem its campaign promises.
“The perpetual persecution, humiliation and wanton destruction of the personality of the Senate President has been on the increase daily. This has almost made him lose focus on his good intentions for the country.
“Dr Saraki had contributed immensely to the empowerment and well-being of the people of the state, yet he was recently accused of sponsoring a gang of robbers that robbed banks in Offa, Offa Local Government Area of the state. This is a calculated attempt to drag his name through the mud.
“The recent calculated attempt to disrupt the peace at the National Assembly is another eloquent testimony to destroy the person of the Senate President. This unwholesome treatment is unwarranted and uncalled for.
“The senate president delivered the entire Kwara State to the APC. The three senators from the state at the National Assembly are APC members, the state government is controlled by APC, all members of the House of Representatives are APC, and the 16 local government chairmen, 24 members of the House of Assembly are APC, including the 193 councillors, apart from his contributions to other states of the federation won by the APC,” he said.
Following this call, which political observers in the state believed was a deft move from leadership of the Saraki structure against the ruling APC, then came the emergence of the CUPP, a union of about 36 various political parties and organisations in the country.
Speaking in Ilorin during the week, a chieftain and publicity secretary of the PDP, Chief Rex Olaoye, said that structure of the opposition party was still with the incumbent executives, adding that new entrants to the party should go and collect membership cards and queue up.
Olaoye, who described impending return of Saraki political structure to the PDP as shameful, said that PDP leadership would oppose alleged total takeover of the party structure as it was the case of Saraki political structure when entering into any political party in the past.
“We are not saying that they should not come back. There are some identified good assets among them in the APC. They can come and join, but it is not that they will come and take over the party structure. For instance, there are some other issues on ground now. Like what happens to political aspirants who had paid for their nominations?
“In a nutshell, anyone coming into the PDP should see himself or herself as ordinary member. We would not want to leave party structure for another people after nurturing PDP to prominence in the state since it was left in tatters. It’s even a shame for them to come back to the party. We won’t take usurpation at all. There’s no big fish anywhere”, he said.
In a reaction, the state publicity secretary of the APC, Alhaji Sulaiman Buhari, said that there is no permanent enemy or friend but permanent interest in politics, adding that movement of politicians from one party to another is a normal occurrence.
“It’s not about shame at all. Politicians move out of anywhere their interest is no longer protected. For instance, PDP members in the state were in another political party before now. More so, this is politics. Not all members presently in PDP now would leave if we rejoin the party at the end of the day”, he said.
As it is now in the state, members of the Saraki political structure are still waiting for their leader to show the way, even when political observers believe that the birth of the CUPP had given enough road map to next destination they are heading.
The state APC chairman, Honourable Ishola Balogun-Fulani said in Ilorin that members of the party remained committed to Saraki and would follow his decision.
Balogun-Fulani, who described the APC as a broken party, lamented that the cord of unity amongst members had been severed due to internal wrangling and the unwarranted trial of the Senate President.
The chairman had been asked to respond to a call last week by the party’s three senatorial chairmen in the state asking Saraki to lead them out of the APC.
“Everyone has a right to express what he wants but as for us we wait on what our leader (Saraki) will decide.
“Like we have always maintained, no political party ever survived war waged against itself. Indeed, It is now clear that the bond of unity and cohesion in the APC has been weakened, damaged, fractured and severed.
“Finally, we wish to reiterate and categorically declare our unconditional loyalty to the leadership of Dr Saraki. Come rain, come sun, we will continue to stand by the Senate President,” he said.
However, pundits hold a view that leadership of Saraki political structure has one thing going well for it in the unfolding drama. This is attributed to perceived strong link with national leadership of most political groups in the CUPP, especially when considered the political reach of the Senate President.
It is recalled that battle for control of the PDP in Kwara State is still a subject of litigation, a situation which many observers said had to do with unfavourable body language of the PDP national leadership against the incumbent executives.
The people said no leadership of any political party would want to joke with a formidable political structure of long standing relevance like that of Saraki political structure, especially when it comes to choosing among alternatives.
On the background of this, members of the PDP in the Ilorin West Local Government chapter staged a protest to condemn planned admission of APC defectors into the PDP by the national leadership of the party.
Speaking when the local government chapter of the PDP staged a protest against purported return of APC defectors into the PDP in Ilorin on Wednesday, pioneer state chairman of the PDP in the state, Alhaji Kunle Sulaiman and the PDP chairman in the local government, Abubakar Sulaiman, threatened to leave the party if the national leadership insisted on accepting the defectors back.
“We won’t want to be affected by virus. If Uche Secondus insists on admitting Saraki and all his people in the APC, we’ll leave nobody in PDP and we’ll go with all our structures. People they are bringing in should come, work and deliver for him. It’s quite unfortunate that Uche Secondus had been starved of ideas and strategy. It appears he only relies on APC defectors. If he had duly recognised structures on ground, he wouldn’t have needed APC.
“To have packed people of questionable characters into the PDP will destroy image of the party and make it impossible for it to win future elections. It’s a shame that former president Olusegun Obasanjo who tore his membership card, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Kwankwanso and others who left with argument that PDP is bad, still want to come back to their vomit,” he said.
Sulaiman, who said that the PDP could win 2019 general election without influence of Saraki-led APC members in the state, added that, “In 2002 when there was a serious fight between the then Governor Muhammad Lawal and the late Dr. Olusola Saraki, we all know how late Saraki had to call for help from our party PDP to rescue him from Governor Lawal and ANPP.
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and our party PDP rescued and accepted late Saraki and the present Senate President into our party. But eventually they took over the party through kangaroo executive and governorship primaries. We all know that Saraki people benefitted immensely from our party PDP from 2003 to 2013. They later left the party to APC.
“On this note, I want to say that the leadership our party, under the leadership of Secondus that without Senator Saraki, Gbemisola Saraki, Alhaji Kawu Baraje and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed PDP, can win 100 per cent in 2019. So, any attempt to share our executives at ward, local government or state levels either by 60-40 or 50-50 will be rejected and we’ll leave the PDP and join other political party.”
Political observers have described the stance of the PDP members in the state as that borne out of deep seated disaffection of the Saraki political structure, saying that the stance may mean building another party from scratch if they eventually carried out their threat. Invariably, the Saraki political structure would be the gainer for it.
and then