Advertisement

Advertisement

Breaking News

BREAKING: Ex Kwara Guber Aspirant Sunday Babalola Dumps PDP For APC


A former People's Democratic Party (PDP) guber aspirant in Kwara State, Engr. Sunday Adebayo Babalola has dump PDP with over 20,000 of his suppoters for All Progressives Congress (APC).

Engr Sunday Babalola who contested under the platform of the People Democratic Party PDP in 2015 made it known while addressing the press today Tuesday, 4th September, 2018 in Ilorin, that he cannot be in the same Party with people (Saraki and his co-travellers) who have led the state and its people into penury, poverty, anguish, hunger, oppression and retrogression.

He said he decided to move with all his supporters to APC because it is a political party that is more focused on people development.

Here is the copy of his official press statement;

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF MY DEFECTION FROM PDP TO APC

I, Engineer Sunday Adebayo Babalola, hereby announce my defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

I have defected with over 20,000 supporters who belong to several groups across Kwara State. I am involved in partisan politics because I believe that politics is about service to the people. Our dear State, as it is now, needs urgent liberation from the over 45 years of deceit, oppression and primordial politics of “stomach infrastructure” so that the people can be delivered from a people that has held them hostage and put them in the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment for so long.

I believe that government plays significant role in advancing the wellbeing of the citizens, through the provision of infrastructure and amenities, human capital development and by engendering an environment that is conducive for business growth and expansion.

I believe strongly that my state, Kwara, has been sadly and
regrettably bedevilled with unprecedented underdevelopment occasioned by inappropriate policies, programmes and with little or no project executions. The improper management of State resources by the ruling
elite, especially the oligarchy of Dr. Bukola Saraki, the current Senate President, who ruled the state for eight years and still pilots the affairs of the state, through cronies including the current Governor of the State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has to be brought to an end.

It is a widely held view that Saraki’s leadership has been widely accused of mismanagement of public resources, which has de-accelerated the growth of the state; such that many other states that were created even over a decade after Kwara State was created in 1967 have overtaken it in terms of development. The level of poverty and infrastructure decay in spite of the volume of the revenues that had accrued to the State over the years, both from the federation allocations and internally generated revenue, is what every well-meaning person should rise up and fight against.

With the defection of Saraki and many of his loyalists, who have led the state and its people into penury, poverty, anguish, hunger, oppression and retrogression, from APC to the PDP, which he laboured very hard to destroy as a result of his inordinate ambition, it is very clear that I have to move with all my supporters to a political
party that is more focused on people development. I find it very difficult to be in the same political party with the major actor or principal, who many people, including I, believe has plunged Kwara State in an abysmal condition.

Nigeria’s democracy standing on the provisions of the nation’s constitution as amended, allow only political parties as vehicles through which aspirants contest for and if successful, occupy elective public positions and offices to implement or advance their agenda in
consonance with the manifestos and programmes of the concerned political party thus providing a medium through which the electorate can make their choice. As a past aspirant and an electorate, I have decided to pitch my tent with the All Progressive Party.

I will continue to offer my services and resources for the
emancipation of my people and for societal development. I do not believe that the return of Saraki and his loyalists to the PDP, after his several actions and utterances, intended to debase, strangulate, ridicule and public opprobrium, that the Party would be able offer anything good for Kwara indigenes and residents.

Those who have been accused to have held the state in the jugular, tried to suffocate and strangle it cannot metamorphose to saviours and liberators of the state, their bombastic claims and promises notwithstanding.

I long and wish to live to see the day Kwara State will realize the lofty ideals and aspirations of its founders and my people liberated from hegemonic, self-centred and retrogressive leadership. May the day come fast!

Long Live Kwara State!

Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.


Engineer Sunday Adebayo Babalola


Question and answer session 

Are you obtaining a governorship form of APC very soon as some others have been doing?

I have no intention of doing that. I intend to support whoever emerges with all my heart and my resources. The contest of governorship, for me, is not 'a do-or-die-affair.'  Political office as I know it should be a call to service. I currently believe that I can help others achieve as much as possible. I can support them, I will look at the candidate among the people who are aspiring to know who I will support. I will look at their skills, experiences and integrity and know who I will support. People have been calling me to at least go for the Senate. My colleagues and supporters from Kwara North and Kwara South have called me to contest for Kwara South Senatorial seat. What I have done over the years is to be mentoring people so that once we can get them to know their rights, and to know that they are being  oppressed, they will then fight for their liberty, then we can get the state out of the doldrum.

I have quite a number of groups that made up over the  20,000 supporters that defected with me, most of them have been calling me to contest for the Senate. Right now as I speak with you, I have no intention to contest but I have intention to support fully whoever that will help us to be delivered from the situation which we have found ourselves.

You talked about infrastructure decay in Kwara State. But the Saraki caucus will tell you that they have Shonga Farm,  Diagnostic Centre etc, are these not infrastructure?

Let me start from Shobga Farm, when last did you go there? Only one farmer out of the 13 farmers are left there few months ago and I am not even sure the remaining one is there today. Will you call that an infrastructure that is standing. If you talk of Aviation College, how many Kwara indegenes are attending the aviation school? Is that necessary infrastructure.

The roads for farmers to bring their harvested crops produce from farms to the markets are not there.

Recently  somebody sent me a picture where Saraki was covered in mud when he was passing through one of the roads in the state. I said good for him because this is one of the things he caused. There are places we places that we travel for about six hours just to go through a few kilomters road. I know of places like Baruteen. From Ilesa Baruba to Gwanara is like about 30 kilometers and you spend over six hours going through the road. I can not even say I want to visit my friends there because it is not going to be easy to go there. Before to travel to Omu-Aran to Ilorin took about 30 minutes but now it takes about one hour 39 minutes and it is not because of vehicular traffic, it is because of bad roads. Basically you can say there is good infrastructure in the state.

No comments