Gang up against Tinubu’s presidential bid will fail, says Kwara lawmaker
By Steve Oni, Ilorin
An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Kwara state, Hon Saheed Popoola, has described the seeming gang up against National Leader of the party Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of 2023 elections as an exercise in futility.
Prince Popoola, who is a member of the state House of Assembly, said the former governor of Lagos state is the unifying factor in APC.
The former Offa local government area chairman, told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, at a programme organised by the state chapter of the correspondent chapel, adding that the recent visit by Hon Bashir Bolarinwa and other APC chieftains in the state to Tinubu was fruitful and purposeful.
Said he: “Yes, we visited Tinubu our leader, after he returned from medical treatment in the United Kingdom. Almost every APC member in Nigeria wanted to see him, and we sought for his attention through, Prof. Shuaib AbdulRaheem that, we the ‘APC Loyal’ in Kwara wanted to come and greet you and he granted our request, he received us well and chatted with us for over five hours.
“Let me say this, the only person that is bringing unity to APC today in Nigeria is Tinubu, and we are telling all those that are ganging up against him that they will surely meet brick wall, all of them, including those that he mentored and they are now doing some unimaginable things behind him, their permutation is a disaster in-waiting, it is a time bomb in APC.”
The lawmaker said he had touched many lives as politician and performed excellently well as public office holder.
He disclosed that in 2023 “I will be contesting for Kwara South Senatorial seat and my reason is very simple.
“We are of the opinion that Offa deserves a second term, and I believe that I can do better than the current occupier.”
Hon Popoola, who is representing Ojomu/Balogun constituency of Offa in the state House of Assembly, said that state governors under the aegis of the Governors’ Forum, are the enemies of Nigeria.
“The almighty governors of Nigeria are our major problem in this country, they are too powerful and selfish. Look at what they are doing to the President on Electoral Amendment Bill. Unfortunately, we have not known our enemies in this country, until we know that the ‘Governors Forum is the basis of our problems in Nigeria.
“Give autonomy to the Houses of Assembly, they said ‘no’ notwithstanding that a law had been passed, the president even said Executive Order 10 should be implemented, so that the autonomy of House of Assembly and Judiciary can be implemented, they said No, for the past two years.
“So, when a governor says you cannot become a speaker, what can you do?”