The Chairman of Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem has said that Kwara state in the last ten years was unfortunate to have bad leaders and governors who never cared about the plights of the people but only about themselves. Abdulraheem, who stated this while speaking with journalists after addressing members of PDP in Ajikobi Central Ward at the weekend, said the defection of PDP members to APC would not affect the ruling party’s victory in the polls.

“Kwara state has been quite unfortunate by the quality of leadership it has been saddled with in the past decade. We have people at the helms of affairs who are so far removed from the reality of the community. That they live in the skies of their own.

“You never find our governor in Omu Aran-Kaaba road; you never see our Speaker going to Jebba by road; they all go with our money in chartered flight. If you put together all the money they have spent chartering flights all over the place, it is enough to build the community. What we are asking for is return to sanity; a return to government for the people, by the people.

“Those who are elected to deliver democracy have betrayed the people. They have spent all the time feathering their own nest at the expense of the people. Instead what you get is pittance being given to the people and you get people dying for nothing. So, if for 10 years, they have been in power and they cannot deliver, is it not the time for us to change? Now, they have gone because they are resisting change. People are asking that governance should be done differently. They are uncomfortable with that, that is why they are no longer with us. They want to go elsewhere to go and align and associate with people who think like them, who live like them but not certainly people like us.”

The former Vice-Chancellor of university of Ilorin while urging the people of the state to remain calm and support PDP said violence would not help Nigerians.

“So in politics there should not be any reason for violence. We already have enough violence in this country. We must not, by any means, whether by our action, or by our utterances encourage anything that is going to increase the tension and to increase the feeling of insecurity in any place. We, as a people in Ilorin, hold it an obligation to this nation as a peaceful people historically to show by example that we can practice politics without bitterness, that we can do politics without violence.”

While speaking on defection of G5, the Chairman of FCC said it was part of the democratic processes that people will align and realign, merge and disengage.

“But we say in this country, in a context, it is very beautiful thing for democracy. In fact, I as Chairman, Federal Character Commission applaud it as a welcome decision. As you can see, every party has something of the other parts of the country within its own fold. So, the issue and the pillar of the integration of the nation towards national understanding through a dialogue is already taking place.

“If all Nigerians of all shades and colours are in PDP and go on the other side my uncle is there, your aunty is there, then we are now building a very stable polity. We are now practising democracy in the spirit in which the founding fathers of our country have actually envisaged. This new configuration is likely to strengthen the inclusiveness and sense of belonging that Nigerians have always hoped for. “