FORMER Governor of Kwara State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Bukola Saraki has criticised “indiscriminate defection” of politicians from one party to another.
Saraki said yesterday at a parley with reporters in Ilorin that the trend if not curtailed could be inimical to the maturing of the nation’s democracy.
He wondered how much value such defectors would be adding to their new found party “after elections,” noting that Nigerian politicians should not decimate the imperative of an alternative party in a democratic setting.
“One party system is not good for our democracy. I believe that our democracy beginning to mature. The issue of March 28 has become a watershed to our democracy in Nigeria. At present politicians have discovered that democracy is not about personal gains.
“Some people in the opposition party called themselves freedom fighters using it as a campaign slogan here in Kwara. They should remain that and sustain the tempo otherwise they would be seen as deceivers of the people.”
Saraki, while lauding the electorates for realizing that democratic powers reside with them, warned that unless political office holders meet the yearnings of the electorates, they would be promptly voted out of power.
He expressed the belief that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the leadership of Professor Attahiru Jega should be commended for doing a yeoman’s job, making the votes of eligible Nigerians to count.
The APC leader said if Jega would not renew his term as the INEC boss, he should ensure that a credible legacy he would be leaving behind would be upheld by his successor.
He noted, “in the past, we didn’t believe in electioneering processes in Nigeria, in fact, we didn’t believe that the incumbent could be voted out of office. But the reality now is that if you want to pass through a second term in office, you must perform well in the first term.”
Saraki debunked the rumour of a plan by the APC-led government in Kwara to substitute the Deputy Governor Elder Peter Kisira with Gbemisola Saraki, the biological sister of the APC chieftain.
“It is a cheap blackmail for anyone to be saying that Gbemisola will replace the Deputy Governor. You all know what the constitution provides on this. She was offered the post in the year 2011 but she rejected it. Nobody is considering it now, it is garbage talk,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to be patient with the APC government when inaugurated, just as he advised the people of Kwara on the need to pay the necessary taxes in order to augment the monthly allocations the state gets from the federal accounts.
“We all love the developments in states like Lagos and Ogun. It is because the people there are paying enough taxes. If we do the same thing here in Kwara, we shall catch up with such states as well,” he added.
On what is making Saraki tick as a politician, he said the political dynasty was always making itself available to the people of the state, “unlike politicians who go on sabbatical leave but come back six months to the elections. These same people will run away until another election time is approaching. If they want to win, let them stay with the people.”
