Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Razaq Atunwa recently spoke to journalists on the current political situation in the state and some issues raised by former sports minister, Ibrahim Bio about the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki in the state. Hammed Shittu presents the excerpts

Kwara State has been stable, politically for some time. What would you attribute this to?
Kwara State remains politically stable for many reasons. Firstly, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has achieved high standards in governance. However, the main factor is that we continue to maintain the unique political structure which is headed by Senator Bukola Saraki. It is a structure, which was founded by the late Dr Olusola Saraki (may his soul rest in peace) and has survived till this day.
It is a misconception to say that Sen. Bukola Saraki ‘inherited’ the structure in a narrow sense. As a matter of fact, he emerged as a leader of Kwara politics by virtue of his overwhelming acceptability by the people. So, he inherited the structure not as a son, but as any worthy successor would have done.

Recently, the former Minister for Sports Ibrahim Isa Bio rejected the leadership of Bukola Saraki. Isn’t that a blow to the structure you talked about?
Far from it; on the contrary, Isa Bio is a political lightweight in Kwara State. All the offices he has held were on account of the Sarakis. So Bio should come off his proverbial high horse. It is his loss if he chooses to now stop accepting the leadership of Bukola Saraki. He cannot dent the structure. He does not even command any popularity in his own local government - Baruten. To be sure, I’m sure you have noticed that not a single person from Baruten has spoken out in support of him.

So, why do you think he is now reacting in this way?
What the former Minister has succeeded in doing is to show the world that he is duplicitous; he is ingenuous and disloyal. The purported basis of his discontent with Senator Bukola Saraki is wholly unfounded. His main gripe seems to be that Senator Bukola Saraki did not hand him the Governorship in 2011. I can speak authoritatively on the matter because I was a governorship aspirant myself in the 2011 elections. At the time when we were still trying to paper the political cracks between Senator Saraki and his father, Bio was the first person to go and obtain the governorship form.

Dr Saraki Senior (Oloye) was still in PDP when Bio obtained the form. The rest of us obtained forms after Oloye had left PDP for ACPN. But he claims to have been an ardent follower of Oloye. That is duplicitous. I was in Abuja sometime in late 2010 with Bukola Saraki, when Bio came to the Kwara Lodge to see him. At that time, he had gone ahead to obtain the governorship form. He then informed the governor that he intended to contest for the position. He didn’t come to ask for advice or permission or endorsement.

He simply came to notify the governor. As any reasonable person would have done, Bukola Saraki simply acknowledged the notification. To suggest that Bukola Saraki asked him to obtain the form is disingenuous. For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Bukola Saraki, as he then was, never anointed any of the aspirants at the early stages. Nor did he promise anyone the ticket. Ask the present Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. Even he didn’t know he would be the candidate until the last minute.

There were five of us from the same stable, namely myself, Bio, Senator Ahmed, Professor Oba Abdulraheem and Abdulfatah Ahmed. We all had a meeting where we agreed that Bukola Saraki should pick a candidate from among us. We agreed that once he picked anyone of us we would withdraw from the race and support the candidacy of that person. This agreement was in writing. I drafted it myself and we all signed it and it was delivered to Bukola Saraki. So it is quite baffling that Bio is now suggesting that Saraki promised him the ticket. If he had such an assurance, why would he be part of such an agreement?

So why do you consider him disloyal?
The fact that he now turns round to peddle falsehood against the very man, Bukola Saraki, who supported and nurtured him throughout the peak of his political career, is an act of gross disloyalty. Bio had been an Honourable Commissioner; then he became a member of the House of Representatives in 1999. In 2003, he became Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly. He was re-elected as Speaker in 2007. In December 2008, he became Minister for Transport and later Minister for Sports. Firstly, this shows that he has been a prime beneficiary of top political positions through the Sarakis.

Second, it shows that Bukola Saraki stood by him. If Bukola Saraki didn’t want him returned as Speaker, he would not have made it. It was Bukola Saraki who nominated him to become Minister and ensured that he got a Grade-A Ministry. When the cabinet was dissolved in March 2007, he was one of the very few, if not the only minister, who was returned to the Federal cabinet. I was aware as Bio was that another name had been submitted to President Jonathan from other quarters to replace Bio.

But Bukola Saraki stood by him and persuaded the President to reappoint him in April 2010. You will recall that at that time, the directive of the President was for the governors to submit 3 names out of which he would choose one. But Bukola Saraki insisted that Bio was his sole nominee. Seemingly, Bio has conveniently forgotten this very recent history. How ungrateful man can be.