PDP convention not a threat to APC, says Kwara Governor

Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed

Ahmed says APC needed a viable opposition.

Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has said the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held on Saturday was not a threat to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but a welcome development.

Ahmed said this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Sunday.

He said the ruling party needed an active opposition party to checkmate their actions to enhance improvement.

Ahmed said, “No, their convention was not a threat. In fact, I expect that they should organise themselves because we require a vibrant opposition. Don’t forget that it is when there are checks and balances in the system that allow you to see areas of deficit and improve on what you are doing.

“Without a viable opposition, we may likely not be able to see what we are doing wrong. You know the system is full of people that will always tell you what you want to hear but from the perspective of the opposition, you will begin to see clearly areas that require adjustment and improvement. For me, their coming on board is a welcome development.”

For those claiming that his state is indirectly controlled by Saraki, the governor said it would be imprudent of him to govern the state without the Senate President or any other person that had contributions to make.

Ahmed said, “Kwara State Government is run under institutional frameworks that are working. I was part and parcel of my predecessor’s administration. I was part and parcel of the policy formulation which formed the bedrock of what I am driving in the state today.

“It will be foolhardy to say I want to run the state independent of his input. It will also be foolhardy to say I want to run independent of others that have things to contribute to the state.

“What makes good governance is inclusiveness. Traditionally, people are used to seeing sitting governors fighting their predecessors and sitting Presidents fighting their predecessors. That has robbed us of continuity, improvement and upscaling.

“We keep forgetting that governance is about service delivery. We believe that as far as governance is about the people of the state, we will continue to work together because it was under his administration I understood politics, policy formulation and service delivery.

“It will be foolhardy for me to begin to run independent of his opinion and input as well as those before him.

“We have for once made Nigerians to see the benefit of continuity. If this can be translated to what we do at the national level, Nigeria will be better off for it.”

Ahmed said further that it was not right to judge the Buhari-led government in just two years of being in the government, adding that it was impossible anywhere in the world to correct societal wrongs in two years.