Saraki in fresh controversy over Kwara exco

Ahmed and Saraki

The delay by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State to constitute his cabinet is causing ripples in the state, writes Success Nwogu

Following the swearing in of the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, for a second term in office on May 29, and the promises he made in his inaugural speech, expectations were high that he would hit the ground running.

It is therefore not surprising that Ahmed’s failure to appoint commissioners, special advisers, senior special assistants and special assistants more than two months after the inauguration has become a major topic of public discourse in the state.

.Ahmed, towards the end of his first term in office, had no fewer than 18 commissioners and 66 aides before the state executive council was dissolved on Monday, May 11, 2015.

But since his current tenure in office commenced, Ahmed has been running the state without commissioners and other aides save seven people appointed to the positions of the Secretary to the State Government, Head of Service, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Chief Press Secretary, Chief of Staff and Senior Special Assistant, Government House.

Many stakeholders in the state, including the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Iyiola Oyedepo, have openly criticised Ahmed’s failure to constitute his cabinet, with some of them blaming it on Saraki’s alleged interference in the affairs of the state.

For instance, a resident, Alhaji Kola Ibrahim, said though Ahmed is the state governor, Saraki, to a great extent, determines major appointments and government transactions in the state.

He alleged that Saraki, who is at loggerheads with the APC for defying its directive over the appointments of principal officers in the Senate, would likely not have time for Kwara’s politics till the crisis in the Senate had been resolved.

He is of the view that Saraki is waiting to know the fate of his ministerial nominees when the Federal Executive Council is constituted so that he could compensate his nominees should they fail at the federal level with appointments in the Kwara State cabinet.

Sources said the ministerial nominees whose names are believed to have been submitted by Saraki to President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration for appointment as ministers included those of a former PDP acting National Chairman, who defected to the APC, Alhaji Kawu Baraje; a former Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi; and a former Vice-Chairman, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum (Downstream Sector), Alhaji Moshood Mustapha.

Ibrahim said, “It is sad that the governor has not appointed commissioners and other aides to assist him in piloting the affairs of the state. We heard that he could not appoint other aides because his godfather, the Senate President, Saraki, has not allowed him to do so.

“We gathered that Saraki has submitted some ministerial nominees but that he is not sure they would be approved by the party as he defied the APC national leadership directive on the appointments of principal officers in the Senate.

“He may be delaying Ahmed from constituting the cabinet so that if his nominees are not accepted by the party leadership and President Buhari, they will then be pacified by allowing them to name some of their loyalists to fill the state cabinet.”

Also Oyedepo said Ibrahim might be right about the reason why Ahmed had yet to appoint members of his cabinet, alleging that Saraki had been in control of the state and not Ahmed.

He said that if Ahmed had been piloting the affairs of the state without being allegedly influenced by Saraki, people would not have been talking about it.

Oyedepo said it is bad for democracy when a governor fails to constitute his cabinet after two months in office.

According to him, Nigeria’s Constitution clearly states that the governor should administer the state with commissioners and other aides.

He argued that governors were never elected to be sole administrators and that Ahmed was not elected to run the government of Kwara State alone.

Oyedepo said Ahmed’s failure to constitute his cabinet could give credence to insinuations that he was manipulating the financial system of the state to his advantage.

He advised that constituting a state executive council would give the governor an opportunity to tap from the wisdom of others in the running of the government.

He said it was rather worrisome because Ahmed, being a second term governor, should have mastered the political terrains and known credible people to appoint into his cabinet.

Oyedepo said, “If people are now insinuating that Ahmed is being controlled by one person or the other, it is because that has been the usual pattern of their politics in APC in this state. They wait for their godfather, Bukola Saraki, to come and constitute the executive or to approve contracts or spending.

“No one is surprised and when insinuations are made like that, it is believable.”

Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Senate President, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, however, denied that Saraki was responsible for the delay in constituting Kwara State cabinet.

He described the current delay in appointing government functionaries as not peculiar to the state, adding that many other states in the country had yet to also constitute their cabinets.

Olaniyonu said, “The Senate President has nothing to do with the delay in constituting cabinet in Kwara State. How many states have constituted their cabinets? Has the president, President Muhammadu Buhari, constituted his cabinet? So why is Kwara different? Only few states in the entire country have constituted their cabinets.

“When the people concerned have said Saraki has nothing to do with it, I think that should rest the matter. The Senate President should not be dragged by force into the matter.

“I do not know why that of Kwara is different. Is it because the Senate President is from there? The President is from Katsina and Katsina State has not constituted the cabinet. Oyo, Lagos and many other states have not constituted their cabinets. Many states have not constituted their cabinets for various reasons.”

Ahmed also said Saraki should not be blamed for the delay in the appointment of commissioners and other aides, saying he was weighing the financial implication of appointing the aides, in view of the financial constraints being faced by many states in the country including Kwara.

He said he would have appointed commissioners the day after his inauguration for a second term in office if there was no cash crunch.

Ahmed said, “We are all aware that we are coming out of a huge financial deficit, largely perpetrated by the last PDP-led federal administration, which has brought us to a level where it is unbelievably difficult for states to meet up with their salaries.

“So, it would be very much out of place for me to come in and immediately appoint commissioners.

“If financial resources have not been a pressure, ordinarily we would have appointed commissioners the next day but where we find ourselves, even paying salaries is difficult. You want me to appoint commissioners and other political advisers who would also put me under financial pressure to pay their salaries and wages?”

The Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad, urged the public to disregard insinuations that Saraki was responsible for the delay in constituting the state government’s cabinet.

He said since Ahmed had blamed his inability to appoint more aides on the cash crunch, people should believe him and stop maligning Saraki.

He said, “Saraki has denied the allegation and the governor has also denied it. The governor said Saraki was not responsible and that he is still looking at the finances of the state. I believe him and people should also believe him.”

The APC state chairman, Alhaji Ishola Fulani-Balogun, also absolved Saraki of culpability in the delay in constituting the state executive council.

He claimed that Saraki had not been interfering in the day to day running of the state.

He said the state APC has confidence in Ahmed, adding that the governor had been delivering dividends of democracy and had shown competence in piloting the affairs of the state.

He said Ahmed had been making consultations to ensure that competent people who have grassroots backing are appointed as his aides.

He also said that the situation was not peculiar to Kwara State, adding that some other states in Nigeria had not constituted their cabinets.

Fulani-Balogun said, “There is a rumour that is going round as regards to why the state executive council has not been put in place. People are insinuating that it is because the Senate President is not around and that he has been the person controlling the affairs of the state. I am here to deny that there is nothing like that.

“The Senate President has not been interfering in what is happening in Kwara. It is the responsibility of the state governor. The Senate President has enough things to do in the upper chamber and he has not been interfering with anything as regards to the governance of the State.

“He (Saraki) only attends to party matters when he comes to the state; that is to see the people, greet them, give them the largess that he has and go back. That is only what he does.

“Arrangements are in top gear to put the right persons in the right places. The move is already on and very soon, the governor will announce the people who will be his members of cabinet.”

Though the controversy still rages on, residents of the state expect nothing less than the delivery of dividends of democracy and good governance that would improve and transform their lives.