By Ibraheem Solaudeen.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State is insisting that former Senate President and leader of the opposition in the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki, should not participate in this year’s edition of Ilorin Emirate Durbar. This is according to a report by Thisday newspapers.
It was alleged that the governor has put the work of the Committee in charge of organising the durbar on hold, insisting Dr. Saraki, who holds the title of the Waziri of Ilorin emirate, must not be made a guest of honour at the event.
“Organisers of the annual event, which always holds during the eid-el-kabir celebration, have had a running battle with the governor following his disapproval of Saraki as a guest of honour to the event.
“While the governor was said to have insisted that Saraki must not feature in this year’s Dubar in whatever form, organisers of the event were said to have told him that it would be impossible to brush aside the holder of the title, Waziri Ilorin, adding that not only must he be invited, his name must be on the invitation cards,” the Thisday report claimed.
The refusal of the governor to accept all the invitation cards bearing the name of Saraki as special guest has put the Durbar Committee in dilemma, leading to a reprint of the cards about three times, deleting Saraki’s name from the latest reprint.
Apart from refusing to accept all the printed samples of the invitation cards bearing Saraki’s name; the governor, according to THISDAY reports, has also raised concerns over the sitting arrangements which placed Saraki in a notable position.
Although, Governor Abdulrazaq is said to be adamant that “anything Saraki” must not feature in this year’s edition of the annual Ilorin Emirate Durbar; the Committee planning the event are still working on ways to prevail on him to soft pedal on his stance against Saraki featuring at the event.
Already, there is a planned meeting between the durbar committee and the governor, where it is expected that a thorough explanation on why Saraki had to participate in the cultural carnival would possibly make the governor have a change of mind.