Kwara State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Tajudeen Aro, speaks with TUNDE OYEKOLA about the complaints of some aggrieved members of the party in the state and advised them to consult widely before taking any unpopular decision against the leadership
Members of a group known as G-16 within the All Progressives Congress alleged that they have not been carried along by the leadership of the party in the governance of the state. What is your reaction to this?
The members of the group are well known and respected members of our party. They are leaders and elders of our party. I know they are a responsible set of party members who can’t be wished away by anybody.
But they said that despite many efforts made to see Governor AbdulRaman AbdulRasaq, it had been impossible to see him. What is your reaction to this?
I wouldn’t know when they attempted to see the governor. They probably didn’t go through the proper channel to see the governor or someone somewhere is blocking them. I know that the governor is very accessible to the people of the state, talk less of respected members of his party, the APC. The governor doesn’t belittle anyone and he respects people and he is very responsive to the feelings of his people. So, I cannot say whether the attempt to see him was made through any of his aides, but I don’t think that any of them can prevent them from having access to the governor.
Some of the issues raised by members of the include the inability of the government to organise local government election to bring elected officials to run the affairs at the local government level; slow and payment of low gratuities to pensioners; neglect of the rural areas with regards to physical development and agriculture, which government would have used to create employment for the teeming unemployed youths. Do you agree with them?
They got it wrong here. Their argument sounds like those of the members of the opposition, who can’t appreciate anything good about the governor. If this is their mindset, they are not doing the party any good because they are sending wrong signals to the public. Yes, they have every right to see their governor and I am sure the governor will not turn down their request to see him. Let me explain some things here; there are some factors militating against the conduct of the local government election in the state. One of such factors is that some members of the opposition parties have taken the government to court, especially on the issue concerning the dissolution of the state Independent Electoral Commission. The matter is still pending in court and it has yet to be resolved. Other members of the public have also filed cases against the government on the local government election.
How is the state governor going to address their complaints?
I want to assure them that the local government election will be conducted as soon as the pending cases relating to it are resolved. The current administration of the APC knows the importance of involving people in administration, especially at the grassroots level, which can be achieved by conducting the local government election. Secondly, on the payment of gratuity and pension to officers, who retired from the state civil service, this is an inherited problem from past administrations in the state. I want to recall that when Governor AbdulRazaq came to power about three and half years ago, he inherited debts running into billions of naira on payment of pension. I want to tell you that these leaders knew that the pensioners were owed many months of unpaid pension, but the governor has been paying the monthly pension regularly since he came to power. On the payment of gratuity, the past administrations had not paid from 2009 till date, and I want to recall that Governor AbdulRazaq in December 2022 paid over 1,000 retired civil servants, who retired in 2009 and 2010, their gratuities and he has promised to pay others what is due to them according to availability of funds.
The G-16 alleged that some members of the APC executive in the state said the group never existed and that they were not known in the party. How true is this?
I am the publicity secretary of the APC and the spokesperson for the party in the state. I can’t remember a time when such a thing came out of the party; I did not say such a thing. However, we register all support groups in the party, but I don’t think the G-16 was registered. I know that they are known party members.
They threatened that they would take some actions if the governor did not see them before the elections. What is your reaction to this?
They should consult widely before taking wrong steps at this stage. The governor is accessible.
What is your advice to the group?
They ought to have met with the leadership of the party before going to the press and probably that would have solved the problem. They should not contemplate any anti-party option as this may be counterproductive. As leaders and elders, they should be patient and avoid actions that will portray them as government antagonists.
Can you briefly state the achievements of the governor?
The government has touched all aspects of development and made a lot of significant changes with impactful success in education, health, workers’ welfare, physical development, social amenities, etc.
