The Kwara State government has condemned comments by the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on the local government polls in the state.
Naija News reports that the local government elections were held in the state on September 21 2024.
However, Saraki stated that the result of the polls do not not represent the will of the people.
He insisted that the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission announced different results from what was obtained at the polling units across the 16 local government areas of the state.
Reacting, via a statement, the state government described Saraki’s submission as laughable and self-flattering.
The Commissioner for Communications, Bolanle Olukoju, said: “Saraki’s PDP not only fruitlessly tried to frustrate the conduct of the election through the court, but mobilised urchins and its local collaborators to disrupt the balloting with their shenanigans and hooliganism, after seeing that they lacked the credibility or a record of convincing people to vote for them.”
The statement read, “It took the popular will of the people to cast their ballot. The government has done well enough to win the trust of the people, and that was what played out, regardless of the noise from Saraki’s men.
“It is bewildering that Saraki’s party is confused between floating the narrative that no election took place and claiming a victory from an election it said was never held. That is the lot of confused, desperate people that Senator Saraki leads
“We also find it incredible that Senator Bukola Saraki was talking about people’s welfare. The record of his iron-fist imperialism, which featured non-payment of salary, use of thugs to intimidate people, and high rate of suicides and destitution and other menaces faced by workers is still fresh.
“In 2016 when things were so tough and various categories of workers were not being paid, Kwarans remembered how Saraki was fighting to buy exotic cars while public funds were also being used to transport people to show solidarity for him in the dock.
“The same Senator Saraki is notorious for his conversion of public properties for personal use, even as the government he inspired was not paying workers while all their appointees were getting 100 per cent salaries and other perks of office.
“The government that he struggles so hard to bad-mouth has cleared the years of salary arrears that his lackeys left unpaid.
“As far as people’s welfare is concerned, Saraki lacks the moral standing to talk. He is a bald hairdresser recommending his unfailing hair restorer. He is a snail claiming a championship in a community of horned animals.”