Date: 2019-04-13

As the race for the 9th speakership position of Kwara State House of Assembly hots up, religious leaders in Offa, under the aegis of Offa Muslim and Christian Cleric Council (OMCCC), have called on the leadership of All Progressives Congress(APC) in the state to make use of experience, sacrifice and loyalty to the party rather than zoning formular in the consideration for electing the ninth Speaker of the state House of Assembly.

The clerics, however, said that out of the elected 24 lawmakers, only Hon. Saheed Popoola representing Ojomu/Igbodun constituency of Offa town remained the most qualified lawmaker to be elected as the 9th speaker of the house.

Speaking with journalists in Offa yesterday, the Muslim and Christian clerics said that when considering Kwara State as a collective project, it was not logical to have a new governor and speaker in both executive and legislative arms in the state.

The group recalled that the governor-elect in the state, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, was coming into governance with private sector background, while all the elected members of the Assembly, except one, Hon. Saheed Popoola, were all new members.

The spokesperson of the clerics, Reverend Segun Ogungboye, who said that zoning arrangement in politics was good for power balancing, added, however, that experience among other qualities should not be sacrificed on the altar of zoning.

Reverend Ogungboye said that the group had made its opinion on the issue known to the party structure in the state, calling on party leaders and members in the state to encourage sacrifice and loyalty to the party rather than zoning formular that may breed apathy.

"That the kind of unalloyed loyalty that Prince Saheed Popoola displayed in the lifetime of the eighth Kwara State House of Assembly and the sacrifices he made thereafter should not be sacrificed on the altar of zoning.

"That four years of legislative experience gained and garnished by Prince Popoola should not be sacrificed on the altar of zoning

"That the spirit and letter of the legislative rule that bequeath principal offices to high ranking legislators for prosperity sake should not be sacrificed on the altar of zoning," he said.