By Ibraheem Solaudeen.
A Kwara-based group known as Congress of Kwara Youths, have called for the immediate resignation of the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bashiru Omolaja Bolarinwa over alleged greed and disloyalty to the state Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
The group, in a statement issued on Monday by its spokesperson, Ishaq Ibrahim, mandated the party leadership to oust its chairman within seven days or risk a total takeover and shutdown of the APC secretariat by its members.
The group noted that Bolarinwa’s attitude to the governor wasn’t reflective of a true party leader who’s saddled with the responsibility of enhancing peace and unity among members of the party.
The statement read: “We have carefully watched the trend of political happenings in the state in the last few days and we hereby lend our voice to corroborate the position of other stakeholders in the state who have earlier called for the party chairman’s removal.
“Hon. Bolarinwa’s greed, disloyal attitude to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq doesn’t portray that of a true party helmsman who is expected to foster prudence, peace, unity and prosperity among members.
“He has demonstrated high level of greed, indiscipline, arrogance and insubordination against the highest ruling class in the state.
“We are urging him to retrace his steps and apologize unreservedly immediately to our governor and plead his loyalty to him so that the governor can continue to achieve his God-given aim of repositioning the state without any unnecessary distraction from within.
“We hereby urge the APC national leadership to urgently oust Hon. Bolarinwa and allow an experienced party man from Kwara North to replace him.
“Failure to heed to our demand will lead to total takeover and shutdown of the APC secretariat by our members.”
Meanwhile, the 16 local government chairmen of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, have dismissed the assertions of the group, describing them as merely playing to the gallery and doing the bid of their sponsors.
“As party chairmen at the local level and members of the State exco, we should know better.
“To the best of our knowledge, every member of the State exco has a voice in all decisions taken. The state chairman is a democrat to the core.
“We have implicit confidence in his leadership and style. We consider the group’s claim as merely playing to the gallery and doing the bid of their sponsors.
“To all intent and purposes, all actions of the State Chairman are geared towards sustaining the sanctity of the Party. His struggles and passion for the survival of the Party are highly appreciated. His sole objective is fighting for the soul of the Party with a view to strengthening it.
“We therefore call on all party faithful to remain steadfast and resolute. And henceforth, we will not hesitate to invoke the relevant provisions of our party’s constitution to deal with recalcitrant members”, the APC LG chairmen said in a statement.