Kwara 2019: No godfather sponsored any politician

An All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart in Kwara State Chief Wole Oke has said no political godfather or leader sponsored any of the elected persons in the just-concluded election in the state. According to him, the development would enable the elected political office holders to serve their people faithfully without taking directives or instructions from any quarters or any political leader or godfather.

Chief Oke made these assertions in Ilorin,  while fielding questions from newsmen on Sunday.

He said there was no leader of the APC in the state that would say that he sponsored any of the elected candidates, stressing that they all worked hard for themselves and won the elections through the support of the electorate.

Chief Oke who is the Jagunmolu of Shao kingdom and the leader of the defunct state House of Assembly in the Second Republic, disclosed that it would even be difficult for the executive to buy or manoeuvre any lawmaker in the coming Ninth Assembly as most of them through his personal interactions with them are  men of principle and integrity who do not want to ruin their political careers hence will support the wishes of their constituents.

He made it clear that as far as he was concerned, since he joined politics,  he never had a political godfather but rather, leaders or members of the same political party, explaining that a political godfather in politics is the person who sponsors, bankrolls or finances another person’s political ambition.

The former lawmaker called on Kwarans to be on the alert and put their representatives on their toes by calling them to order more so with the advent of the social media which the voters could use to either highlight their achievements or expose their inadequacies or shortcomings.

He urged the executive and the legislative arms to work together in the interest of the masses and cautioned the legislators not to make the Ninth legislative arm a “Yes Assembly.”

Chief Oke said the fact that most of the lawmakers were first timers at the National Assembly or state Assembly, does not mean that they would not perform to the satisfaction of the electorate or distract one from doing an excellent job. He, however, warned them against being arrogant, enjoining them to humble themselves.

He said he was in support of the military presence on the election days so as to discourage desperate politicians and political thugs from distabilising the democratic process and to secure people’s lives.

He appealed to the people of the state to cooperate with the incoming administration under the leadership of Alhaji Abdulraman Abdulrazaq, for a better Kwara, adding that he was ready to serve his people if called upon to do so in any capacity.