•••Says Bandits Have Kill led over 70, injured 50, kidnapped 45, sacked 25 communities in one year
By Attah Ede
Ex-Senate president and National Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bukola Saraki, has criticized the Kwara State Government over rising insecurity in the state.
The former Senate President condemned the high spate of insecurity being experience in some parts of the state.
Senator Saraki noted that Kwara had experienced alarming cases of violence ranging from killings, kidnappings and other criminalities, saying that the state was sliding into a state of insecurity that has never been witnessed in its history.
The former Kwara State governor who revealed this while speaking at the PDP state congress of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) held at the weekend, disclosed that in the last 12 months, over 70 people were killed in Kwara North and South, while about 50 people sustained various forms of injuries.
According to him, within the same period, about 42 people were kidnapped and over 25 communities sacked by armed bandits.
He therefore berated the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in Kwara State, accusing it of abandoning its constitutional duty to protect lives and property.
“Our state is being overrun by bandits, kidnappers and killers, who have waged a ceaseless, needless and careless onslaught on our people. Yet, the Kwara State Government and all the people in governance have maintained a posture of apathy and nonchalant attitude.
“The inability of government to act, violates Section 14 (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which makes security and welfare of citizens the primary purpose of government.
“The present government in Kwara is living in denial and suppressing facts, instead of tackling the crisis.
“No responsible citizen or party will play politics with the lives and livelihood of her people. But as responsible politicians and political platforms that want to genuinely serve our people, we will not keep quiet”, Saraki noted.
Drawing comparison with the past administrations, Saraki insisted that Kwara never experienced this level of insecurity under the PDP leadership.
“Did we see this type of security lapses when the late Alhaji Adamu Atta, Senator Cornelius Adebayo or Senator Shaba Lafiagi governed the state? No. Did people abandon their communities when Admiral Lawal was governor? No. I governed this state for eight years, did we face a security crisis like this? No.”
The former Senate president argued that neighbouring states had fared better. “Insurgency is no longer a menace in Niger State. The state government has chased the criminals out.
“In Oyo, Ekiti, Osun and even Kogi, insecurity is not as alarming as it is in Kwara. This is just a reflection of the clueless and lackadaisical government we have in Kwara State,” he stressed.
On the way forward, he charged the PDP members to begin mobilising ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The stakes are too high now for Kwarans to reward failure. Our people must be further enlightened and mobilised to vote out the clueless people in the present government of Kwara State.”
He congratulated the newly elected party executives across wards, local governments and the state, commending them for peaceful congresses, which showed the values of good leadership, organisation, and discipline.
He also thanked the outgoing executives, assuring them of future roles in the party
