Nigeria’s Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, has knocked the governor of Kwara state, Abdulrahman Abdulrazzaq, for demolition a building belonging to her late father, Olusola Saraki.
The minister, who is a member of the same party, APC, with governor Abdulrazzaq, believes the demolition is tied to family political disagreements.
“Revenge cannot be a policy thrust of governance,” she said in a statement on Friday.
According to her, if her father were to be alive, he would have been saddened by the demolition of ‘Ile Arugbo’, adding that it was “disrespectful” to her.
But the minister, whose brother and former governor of the state, Bukola Saraki, has since condemned the demolition of the house, pleaded with her father’s supporters to be calm and peaceful in the face of provocation by the governor.
She said, “At 3:00am Thursday 2nd of January 2020, the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, gave orders to the police to open fire on aged women at the contested welfare home, popularly known as ‘Ile Arugbo’ (home for the aged), owned by my father, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki.
“As a staunch and loyal member of APC, I have kept quiet to date on the happenings in my state, Kwara State. I had done this for a number of reasons, including trying to “keep my head when all about me are losing theirs.”
“But all in all, I had kept quiet, as being a loyal member and supporter of the party, I did not want to get into any squabble with the Governor despite so many provocations.
“Again, as a loyal and dedicated daughter of my father, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, who I hold in very high esteem, I did not want to express my opinion on the propriety of the Governor’s recent political actions as it would be seen as biased because the late Waziri is my father.
“However, given the turn of events and the violent nature of the Governor’s position, it is only right for me to speak now.”
She also said, “There might have been some elements within my party, APC, who wanted to change the O to ge narrative of the 2019 elections to be about the Sarakis, and not about what it was – the removal of a failing PDP administration.
“But clearly, by some recent steps taken, especially with Thursday’s actions, Kwara State APC must be careful to not allow a few elements with their own agenda other than governance to turn their personal vendetta into the official position of APC in the state.
“They must not be allowed to hijack the narrative of what our party stands for.
“The APC has, since its inception, preached and worked earnestly for genuine good governance, security, increased welfare, progress and development of the people, as exemplified by President Muhammadu Buhari, who in the face of direct provocation and deep personal attacks, remains true to the oath he took to govern all Nigerians in spite of allegiances.
“That is why it is important that my silence is not misconstrued as tacit approval or support for the actions taken by the Governor.”
